ABSTRACT
Domestic and industrial wastewater generation imparts pollution load on treatment facilities and leads to the discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewaters into the natural water bodies. These wastewaters contain harmful inorganic and organic toxicants that may enter the aquatic and human food chain. The alternative environment-friendly methods may reduce the load on existing wastewater treatment technologies. Phytoremediation is a solar-driven, environmentally benign and inexpensive technology that uses plants for the remediation of environmental pollutants. Constructed wetlands are engineered systems that are designed to utilize natural components such as soil, plants and microorganisms to degrade the inorganic/organic pollutants present in wastewater. The amendment of biochar in constructed wetlands provides high complexation and immobilization of metals, sorption and partitioning of organic pollutants, and climate change mitigation (low greenhouse gas emission and high carbon sequestration). This chapter reviews and highlights the potential of biochar-amended constructed wetlands for effective remediation of different types of domestic and industrial wastewaters.
