Preliminary assessment on the application of biochar and spectral-induced polarization for wastewater treatment

In this work, we explore the use of biochar as a remediation agent, and the sensitivity of the spectral-induced polarization method as a remediation monitoring aid. Biochar amended columns were fully saturated with industrial wastewater (olive oil mill waste) with very high concentration of phenols (∼2485 mg/L) and other substances. The biochar-amended columns achieved very high removal rates of phenols compared to the control (sand only). Geophysical monitoring over the duration of the experiment (10 days) showed changes in the spectral-induced polarization signal (imaginary conductivity) consistent with phenol removal as confirmed by geochemical monitoring. This experiment confirmed the utility of biochar as a remediation agent. Furthermore, spectral-induced polarization can serve as long-term, high resolution, monitoring aid in organic contaminant degradation processes.