Assessment of Biochar Amendment for Remediation of Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils in Urban Environments

1. Introduction 1.1 Background and Rationale 1.2 Objectives of the Study 1.3 Structure of the Thesis 2. Literature Review 2.1 Overview of Hydrocarbon Contamination 2.2 Biochar as a Remediation Tool 2.3 Urban Soil Characteristics 2.4 Prior Studies on Biochar Applications 3. Methodology 3.1 Study Design and Framework 3.2 Selection of Study Sites 3.3 Biochar Characterization 3.4 Data Collection Techniques 3.5 Data Analysis Procedures 4. Biochar Amendment Application 4.1 Preparation of Soil Samples 4.2 Biochar Application Methods 4.3 Experimental Protocols 4.4 Monitoring Parameters 5. Results 5.1 Soil Quality Assessment 5.2 Hydrocarbon Degradation Rates 5.3 Impact on Soil Microbial Communities 5.4 Interaction with Urban Soil Compositions 6. Discussion 6.1 Interpretation of Findings 6.2 Comparison with Existing Literature 6.3 Implications for Urban Soil Management 6.4 Limitations of the Study 7. Conclusion 7.1 Summary of Key Findings 7.2 Contributions to Environmental Science 7.3 Recommendations for Future Research 8. References and Appendices 8.1 Cited Literature 8.2 Supplementary Data 8.3 Additional Experiment Details