PFAS and nitrate leaching from undisturbed soil columns receiving biosolids and mitigation potential of biochar

Land application of biosolids recycles nutrients and reduces the need for commercial fertilizers. However, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may leach from biosolids, resulting in groundwater contamination. We measured PFAS leaching from land-applied biosolids through undisturbed soil column trials and evaluated the treatment potential of amending biosolids with biochar. Synthetic rainfall was applied weekly to undisturbed soil columns from four regions in Wisconsin, including two fields with a history of biosolids application, simulating annual precipitation. The treatments consisted of a control (soil only), soil amended with biosolids, and soil receiving a mixture of biosolids and biochar. Concentrations of total PFAS in leachate were significantly affected by soil location and site history, while only long chain PFAS concentrations were significantly affected by biosolids/biochar treatments. One-time application of biosolids may result in groundwater contamination, as PFAS ..., Raw data was obtained from leaching experiment conducted on undisturbed soil columns collected at 4 locations across Wisconsin to:
1) Evaluate the leachability of added PFAS and Nitrogen compounds under a normal precipitation regime for Wisconsin. 
2) Investigate the ability of biochar to reduce the leachability of the compounds of interest.
Composite weekly leachate were collected, measured, and sampled to test for the concentration of several PFAS and Nitrogen compounds. Leachate volume and concentration data were combined to estimate weekly loads of the compounds of interest. Statistical procedures (including two-way ANOVA, Tukey's HSD post-hoc, and ANCOVA) were employed to investigate the difference in leachability between locations, and the effect of biochar on leaching potentials. , The dataset is a .xlsx file and requires Microsoft Excel to open. Alternatively, Google Sheets can be used to open it. , Holly, A.H., Gunn, K.M., Keymer, D., Sanford, J.R. Evaluation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Leaching from Biosolids and Mitigation Potential
of Biochar through Undisturbed Soil Columns.

### Summary

Raw data from undisturbed soil column leaching experiment at 4 locations/counties (Columbia, Grant, Marathon, Outagamie) in Wisconsin.
Several treatments were applied to:
1-Estimate the leachability of various PFAS and nitrogen compounds
2-Investigate the ability of biochar to reduce the leachability of the compounds of interest
Data contains weekly leachate volumes from individual soil columns as well as concentrations of compounds of interest in the leachate samples.

### Data file

Holly_et_al_2023_leaching_data.xlsx – the only .xlsx file providing raw data for weekly leachate volume and concentrations of compounds of interests. Data are organized by sheets

Sheets description

Metadata: several tables including:

* the counties included in the study (Columbia, Grant, Marathon...