Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are produced in large quantities by industry because they are suitable constituents of plastics, thanks to their chemical properties. Considering the great risks for human health due to exposure to PAEs, the problem related to the effects of these plasticizers on food-producing animals should not be put on the back burner because foods represent one of the first pathways of their absorption for humans. Recent studies suggest that phthalate contamination in the rumen can affect its function and alter the microbial balance. Hence, understanding what happens after ingestion is crucial. This study assessed the impact of dimethyl-, diethyl-, and di-n-octyl- phthalate (DMP, DEP, and DOP, respectively) on rumen fermentation and microbial communities, by means of an in vitro approach. Phthalates significantly altered the fatty acid profile. Saturated fatty acids decreased, while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated ones increased under DEP treatment. The DOP reduced C20:4 n-6 and C22:6 n-3. Stearic acid (C18:0) remained dominant but decreased in DEP and DOP conditions. Several C18:1 isomers and omega-3 were affected, particularly by DOP. The highest abatement of phthalates was observed for DOP (63.062%), while DEP and DMP (5.159 and 4.838%) had a similar low decrease compared to the initial concentration. Microbial community analysis revealed shifts in beta diversity, with DEP causing the most distinct changes. Bacterial genera such as Rhodococcus and Streptococcus increased in DEP, while other genera like Aliarcobacter and Parabacteroides declined. DEP, DMP, and DOP induced genus-specific responses, highlighting PAE-selective impact on rumen ecology.

Despite global efforts to reduce landfill use for municipal waste, many sites remain active, and older closed sites still require management, particularly regarding leachate. Landfill leachate contains varying levels of organic and inorganic pollutants, generated through biological and physicochemical processes following water infiltration. Its complex composition-including COD, inorganic macro-components, heavy metals, and xenobiotics-necessitates effective treatment technologies to enable safe discharge into surface waters. This study compares low-cost, eco-sustainable adsorbents for the removal of ammonium, trace elements (Cd, Be, Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr, As, Sn, Sb, Se), and color (as an indirect measure of organic compounds) from urban landfill leachate. In more detail, six biochars from different biomass feedstocks and pyro-gasification conditions as well as natural chabazite and synthetic zeolite 13X (FAU-type) were investigated. After characterization, biochars were characterized and adsorption performance was assessed. Removal performance was comparatively evaluated after 24 h batch contact under fixed experimental conditions. Results showed that gasified biochars achieved high removal efficiency for metals and color but were ineffective for ammonium. Instead, both zeolites demonstrated efficient ammonium removal (similar to 50%) but were less efficient for metals, reflecting the mechanism-driven selectivity of the adsorbents studied. Finally, a principal component analysis (PCA) revealed correlations between biochar physicochemical properties and contaminant retention, providing insight into key factors governing adsorption and informing the design of sustainable leachate treatment strategies.

The growing occurrence of chemicals of environmental concern (CECs) in surface and drinking water requires advanced analytical approaches capable of covering the broad chemical space of known and unknown contaminants potentially present in these matrices. Nontargeted analysis (NTA) based on liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is gaining popularity as it is virtually comprehensive and may provide high data quality. However, NTA has some limitations in terms of sensitivity, which may limit its effectiveness, and offline prioritization processes are usually adopted to bring out the desired features from the vast array of NTA signals. A novel LC-HRMS-based two-stage prioritization framework is proposed to evaluate the combined chemical load by dissolved organic matter and CECs in a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP). For the first time, an experimental design (DoE) approach is adopted to optimize LC-HRMS acquisition parameters for the online prioritization of features responsible for the combined chemical load in the investigated samples. DoE was performed on a training set of 42 regulated CECs, characterized by a wide chemical coverage (e.g., log D at pH = 7 between -2.49 and 7.38), identifying optimal experimental conditions for maximizing their NTA detection. DoE-optimized online prioritization was combined with offline prioritization, performed using multivariate and univariate analyses, capturing significant trends in dissolved organic matter features, known CECs (e.g., perfluoroalkyl substances), and unknown compounds, tentatively identified as potential pesticide byproducts. Targeted analysis, performed on the CEC training set, provided a 100% match with the NTA approach, thus validating the proposed two-step prioritization framework. The two-step prioritization allows for (i) improving method sensitivity thanks to the online prioritization and (ii) revealing both persistent and potential transformation-derived contaminants, thus providing a comprehensive tool for assessing chemical load and treatment performance in DWTP.

Steroid hormones (SHs) have a high estrogenic potential, and urban wastewater is one of their main ways into the aquatic environment. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are considered one of the most sustainable alternatives for the treatment of wastewater from small communities. However, the use of gravel and sand implies a significant environmental impact associated with their extraction and transport. A more sustainable alternative is the use of plant residues, as they are abundant, inexpensive, and readily available, and they can improve the efficiency of hormone removal through sorption. Thus, the sorption of 15 SHs was studied on conventional, mineral substrates (gravel, sand, and volcanic ash) and alternative vegetal wastes, i.e., mulches from giant reed, palm tree, balsa wood, and pine needles. These materials were characterized by determining their Point of Zero Charge (pHPZC), ash content, content of leachable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals, total surface area (BET), and pore characteristics. Results indicated that SH sorption on the mineral substrates was quite low, in most cases less than 10-15%. However, in the mulches it reached between 50 and 95%, except for corticosteroids (11-43%). The pseudo-second-order kinetics provided the best fit in all cases, with R2 values between 0.97 and 0.9999. Experiments with a contact time of 7 days showed that the palm tree was the only substrate that completely removed the three corticosteroids studied (cortisone, prednisone, and prednisolone). Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between removal due to sorption (%) and log octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kow). Freundlich isotherm provided a higher number of best fits than Langmuir. Lastly, to compare sand with palm mulch under more realistic experimental conditions, four lab-scale CWs (two with palm mulch and two with sand, with/without plants) were studied. The sand-based CWs achieved faster SH percentage removals, while after 24 h, SH mass removals were significantly higher in the palm mulch-based CWs.

Efficient wastewater treatment is crucial before its discharge into natural water bodies or reuse. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are an attracting sanitation technology for wastewater treatment, offering low external energy requirements, aesthetic value and ease of operation. Biochar, with its unique physicochemical properties, is a strong multifunctional medium in CWs having a good capacity to adsorb micropollutants with supporting plant growth, and to provide suitable environment for microbial communities. This study evaluates the removal efficiency of key parameters (COD, NH4+–N, NO2−–N, NO3–N) and certain pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) and their transformation products (TPs) in a vertical-flow, planted with Phragmites Australis and containing biochar (CW-BC-P). The removal efficiency of this system was compared to that of an unplanted biochar-filled constructed wetland (CW-BC-U) and a planted constructed wetland containing gravel instead of biochar (CW-G-P). All CWs were experimented using urban wastewater. The main results show that vertical CWs play a significant role in the reduction of the concentrations of the studied PhCs for which obtained removal rates were between 50 and 100

The objective of this study was to optimize the production of biochar (BC) from agricultural waste by evaluating the impact of biomass type and pyrolysis conditions on the physicochemical properties and adsorption performance in wastewater treatment. Four feedstocks, de-oiled olive mill waste (DOW), pellet argan cake (PAC), white argan press cake (WAC), and black argan press cake (BAC), were pyrolyzed at 600, 700, and 800 °C for a period of two hours with a heating rate of 2 °C/min. The resulting biochars were characterized using proximate and elemental analyses, FT-IR, XRD, SEM-EDX, and BET surface area measurements. Adsorption capacity was evaluated through methylene blue (MB) batch tests. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature increased the carbon content, fixed carbon, and thermal stability but decreased the yield, moisture content, and volatile matter. Structural analyses confirmed significant changes in crystallinity, porosity, and functional groups. MB adsorption increased with temperature. DOW-derived biochar consistently outperformed argan-derived biochar. The DOW sample produced at 800 °C exhibited the highest yield (31–33

The disposal of sewage sludge represents an important concern for the environment and its treatment is often expensive, since in most cases it requires the intervention of advanced treatment technologies. The reuse of sewage sludge for the production of adsorbent material for the removal of micropollutants from wastewater could therefore represent an attractive alternative. The aim of this work is to study the efficiency of a sewage sludge-based ash towards the removal of copper ions from wastewater. Specific surface area, pH of point of zero charge and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the produced adsorbent. In order to evaluate and to optimize the adsorption operating conditions of sewage sludge-based ash, Box–Behnken design method was established to highlight the influence of contact time, pH, mass of the adsorbent and copper initial concentration on the effectiveness of copper retention process. The use of the quality by design approach allowed us to identify the optimum conditions for the removal of copper by sewage sludge ash which are a contact time of 90 min, a pH value of 5, 1 g L−1 of adsorbent and a concentration of copper ions of about 15.75 mg L−1. Simulating these operating conditions, we were able to reach a copper removal efficiency of 80.73

The increasing use of reclaimed wastewater in agriculture raises growing concerns about the accumulation of priority organic micropollutants in edible crops. In this study, we developed and validated a novel QuEChERS–SPME–GC/MS method for the simultaneous determination of 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 3 nitro-PAHs, and 14 polychlorinated biphenyls congeners in Eruca vesicaria (rocket) leaves. The method was optimized to address the matrix complexity of leafy vegetables and included a two-step dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) cleanup and aqueous dilution prior to SPME. Validation showed excellent performance, with MDLs between 0.1 and 6.7 µg/kg, recoveries generally between 70 and 120%, and precision (RSD%) below 20%. The greenness of the protocol was assessed using the AGREE metric, yielding a score of 0.60. Application to rocket samples irrigated with treated wastewater revealed no significant accumulation of target pollutants compared to commercial samples. All PCB and N-PAH congeners were below detection limits, and PAH concentrations were low and mostly limited to lighter compounds. Human health risk assessment based on toxic equivalent concentrations confirmed that estimated cancer risk (CR) values 10−9–10−8 were well below accepted safety thresholds. These findings support the safe use of reclaimed water for leafy crop irrigation under proper treatment conditions and highlight the suitability of the method for trace-level food safety monitoring.

The virtual chemical space of substances, including emerging contaminants relevant to the environment and exposome, is rapidly expanding. Non-targeted analysis (NTA) by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is useful in measuring broad chemical space regions. Internal standards are typically used to optimize the selectivity and sensitivity of NTA LC-HRMS methods, assuming a linear relationship between structure and behavior across all analytes. However, this assumption fails for large, heterogeneous chemical spaces, narrowing measurable coverage to structurally similar compounds. We present a data-driven strategy for unbiased sampling of candidate structures for NTA LC-HRMS method development from extensive chemical spaces, such as the U.S. EPA's CompTox (>1 million chemicals). The workflow maximizes physicochemical/structural diversity using precomputed PubChem descriptors (e.g., molecular weight, XLogP) and grants LC-HRMS compatibility thanks to predicted mobility and ionization efficiency from molecular fingerprints. The resulting measurable compound lists (MCLs) provide broad, heterogeneous coverage for NTA method development, validation, and boundary assessment. Applied to the CompTox space, the approach yielded MCLs with greater chemical coverage and broader predicted LC-HRMS applicability than conventional "watch list" contaminants, offering a robust framework for enhancing NTA's measurable chemical space while preserving diversity.

This study aims to test the efficiency of biochar-based substrates in removing chemical and bacteriological pollutants from wastewater and to determine the optimal percentage of biochar (BC) to implement for large-scale filters (e.g., constructed wetlands). So, a preliminary test was conducted on a lab column scale for wastewater treatment of decanted wastewater using column filtration systems (CFS) integrated with BC (BC-based CFSs) at different concentrations (0%, 10%, 25%, and 50%). The BC used here was produced from exhausted olive pomace (pyrolised at T 590 °C, residence time of 2 h and a heating rate of 10 °C min-1). The results revealed that the BC incorporated into the CFS improved the efficiency of nitrogen species removal (total nitrogen (TN) 64-65%, total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) 75%-77%, organic nitrogen (ON) 78%-87%, and NH4+-N 57%-69%); phosphorus species (total phosphorus (TP) 39%-44%, PO43- 38%-42%); total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (TCOD (44%-56%), and SCOD (33%-51%) respectively); and total suspended solids (TSS) 87%-92%, compared to the control filter (CFS0). Bacteriological analysis focused on faecal bacteria indicators, including total coliforms (TC), faecal coliforms (FC), faecal streptococci (FS), as well as the pathogen Staphylococcus (SP) and total aerobic mesophilic flora (TAMF). The highest removal efficiencies were observed for CFS10. Based on this preliminary study, the efficiency of CFS in removing pollutants from wastewater is optimal with a small amount of BC (10%) from both water quality and economic points of view.

This study describes the analysis of microplastics in aqueous matrices of varying complexity using pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). Depending on the filtration rate of the analysed matrix, sample treatment prior to Py-GC-MS consisted of filtration on 0.7 mu m glass fibre membranes (low-complexity matrices), or microwave-assisted digestion of samples with hydrogen peroxide, followed by filtration as above-mentioned (high-complexity matrices). Low-complexity matrices included demineralised water (DMW), mineral water in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles (BMW), drinking water from a public aqueduct (DW), and DW further treated with activated carbon and distributed in public fountains (FOW). Highcomplexity matrices included effluent wastewater from primary sedimentation (WW-PS), biological oxidation (WW-BO), clariflocculation (WW-CL), and quaternary treatment (WW-QT). Sample digestion significantly accelerated the filtration process of high-complexity matrices. In most cases, absolute value of matrix effect was G40 %, except for PET in WW-PS (-54 %) and WW-CL (-56 %), and polystyrene in WW-PS (75 %). Apparent recovery, studied in DMW, DW, and WW-BO matrices, was 90+24, 87+25, and 67+19, respectively. The methods were evaluated for their greenness, achieving scores higher than or comparable to those of previously published Py-GC-MS procedures. Poly(methyl methacrylate) and PET were never detected, while different levels of contamination were found for polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyamide, and polyvinyl chloride, depending on the sample type. The lowest contaminations were determined in BMW and DMW. FOW was more contaminated than DW (five microplastics detected at 2.7-138 mu g/L vs. two microplastics detected at G0.62-23 mu g/L) and concentrations in WWs were in the order WW-QTGWW-CLGWW-PSGGWW-BO.

Biochar from pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS-BC) was tested for the first time as dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) sorbent in the clean-up of QuEChERS extracts of rocket, tomato, and strawberry for the analysis of a wide group of contaminants of emerging concern, which included 23 analytes belonging to the classes of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs), perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs), and sunscreen agents (SAs). The SS-BC was compared for its clean-up efficiency with graphitized carbon black (GCB) and styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer (SDVB), evaluating recovery efficiency (R) in matrix-free experiments, matrix effect (ME) reduction and apparent recovery (AR%). SS-BC at 10 mg/mL of extract showed high ME removals for all target analytes, but variable recoveries (R% = 67 +/- 36), inversely and strongly correlated with the number of aromatic rings and directly correlated with the size and hydrophobicity of the molecule. BC was effective as d-SPE sorbent for the QuEChERS analysis of PFAS (AR% = 96 %-136 %, depending on the crop analysed), while for the simultaneous analysis of both non-aromatic and aromatic analytes better results were obtained by properly mixing SS-BC with SDVB. The proposed QuEChERS extraction and clean-up approach was compared for its environmental greenness with previously published methods, showing the highest score (0.53 vs. 0.35-0.47). Based on the results obtained, SSBC represents a sustainable and cost-effective bio-based material that can replace GCB as d-SPE sorbent for the analysis of a wide variety of emerging contaminants, covering a broad range of physicochemical properties (e.g., Log D at pH = 7 in the range - 2-6.8) in various pigmented crop extracts.

This study evaluates the use of biochar as a sustainable substitute to peat in the soilless cultivation of rocket salad (Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.). Biochar was added to a peat-based substrate at concentrations of 0% (control), 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 70% v/v to assess its effects on seed germination, plant growth, mineral content, and nitrate accumulation. The results show that biochar concentrations up to 40% v/v maintained germination rates above 80%, similar to the control, while higher concentrations (70% v/v) drastically reduced germination to 29% and entirely compromised plant development and growth. A moderate biochar concentration (20%) had a positive effect on fresh weight and leaf area, while maintaining comparable levels of nutrient uptake, chlorophyll, and flavonols. In addition, biochar-enriched substrates (≥20% v/v) reduced nitrate accumulation in leaves by 26–30%, addressing a critical quality and safety concern. A high biochar content (≥40% v/v) altered the substrate’s physicochemical properties, including pH, porosity, and electrical conductivity, negatively affecting plant growth (a 38% reduction in plant growth and 42% in leaf area) and increasing heavy metal concentrations, such as that of zinc (~30%). These findings suggest that incorporating up to 20% v/v biochar in soilless substrates offers a sustainable alternative to peat, supporting rocket salad performance and improving leaf nitrate quality, without compromising yield or safety.

Reusing treated wastewater (TWW) in agriculture may reduce water use pressure. While TWW is often used for soil irrigation, its application in hydroponics remains limited. In these systems, TWW can serve as a source of nutrients for plants while also being further reclaimed. We evaluated two TWWs of different origin and composition for hydroponic rocket cultivation. Each TWW was tested in its native form (TWW1 and TWW2) and after dilution and supplementation with mineral salts (TWW1_DH and TWW2_DH), using a Hoagland nutrient solution as a control. Yield and qualitative aspects of the product, including health risk factors (nitrates and heavy metals), were assessed. Rocket grown in TWW1 reached the harvesting stage, but with a significant yield reduction compared to the control (−40%). In TWW2, plants reached only the cotyledon stage and were not harvested. Two harvests were obtained in TWW1_DH and TWW2_DH, with yields comparable to the control or even significantly higher (+25%) in the first harvest in TWW1_DH. No health concerns were detected, with values of Health Risk Index < 1 for all the heavy metals and nitrate levels (~3000 mg kg−1 FW) well below EU limits. The study highlights the potential of TWW for the hydroponic cultivation of rocket, but also highlights the need to tailor its use based on composition.

In the Mediterranean region, climate change poses a major threat to agriculture, particularly fruit production systems, due to its long-term effects on tree phenology and productivity. Sustainable agricultural practices and soil management strategies are crucial to alleviate this abiotic stress. This review focuses on biochar and hydrogel as promising soil amendments to enhance the adaptation of perennial fruit trees to environmental constraints. Its objective is to examine how these materials are currently used to mitigate abiotic stresses and to provide an updated synthesis of their agronomic potential. We summarize recent findings on the different types of biochar and hydrogels applied in agriculture and assess their effects on soil fertility, water-holding capacity, nutrient dynamics, tree growth, physiology, and tolerance to drought and other stresses. Special emphasis is placed on perennial tree species, as their long lifespan makes them particularly vulnerable to climate variability. By providing a comprehensive understanding of their mechanisms and interactions with climate conditions, soil types and plants, this study will ensure new knowledge for both researchers and farmers. These findings will help deal with waste management issues and try to find solutions to mitigate the effect of abiotic stress on tree growth. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first to highlight the potential of biochar and hydrogels for improving fruit tree performance under Mediterranean conditions. It also addresses a major gap related to the limited recycling of agro-industrial byproducts into these amendments, as exemplified by the CYCLOLIVE case study.

This study investigates the performance of vertical flow constructed wetlands (VF-CWs) using olive pomace biochar (CW-B) versus a sand-only control (CW-C) under two organic loading rates (OLR): low (20 g COD/m2.d) and high (70 g COD/m2.d). At low OLR, CW-B achieved higher removal efficiencies than CW-C, with 60

Nine biochars were produced by co-pyrolysis of sawdust and biological sludge following the “design of experiment” approach. Two kinds of sludge (both deriving from the treatment of mixed industrial-municipal wastewater) and two types of woody waste were selected as categorical predicting variables, while contact time, pyrolysis temperature, and sludge percentage were used as quantitative variables. Biochars were analysed for their product characteristics and environmental compatibility based on the European Standards (EN 12915–1:2009) for materials intended for water treatment (i.e. ash content, water leachable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and elements), as well as for specific surface area (SSA), using them as response variables of a multivariate partial least square multiple regression, whose results provided interesting insights on the relationships between pyrolysis conditions and biochar characteristics. Biochars produced with sludge and/or providing the highest SSA values (258–370 m2 g−1) were selected to undergo a sustainable chemical treatment using a by-product of the gasification of woody biomass, complying in all cases with European Standards and achieving therefore the end-of-waste status for sewage sludge. The biochar deriving from the highest percentage of sludge (30

To date, poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a real threat for their environmental persistence, wide physicochemical variability, and their potential toxicity. Thus far a large portion of these chemicals remain structurally unknown. These chemicals, therefore, require the implementation of complex non-targeted analysis workflows using liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) for their comprehensive detection and monitoring. This approach, even though comprehensive, does not always provide the much-needed analytical resolution for the analysis of complex PFAS mixtures such as fire-fighting aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs). This study consolidates the advantages of the LCxLC technique hyphenated with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS/MS) for the identification of PFAS in AFFF mixtures. A total of 57 PFAS homolog series (HS) were identified in 3M and Orchidee AFFF mixtures thanks to the (i) high chromatographic peak capacity (n(2D,c)' similar to 300) and the (i) increased mass domain resolution provided by the "remainder of Kendrick Mass" (RKM) analysis on the HRMS data. Then, we attempted to annotate the PFAS of each HS by exploiting the available reference standards and the FluoroMatch workflow in combination with the RKM defect by different fluorine repeating units, such as CF2, CF2O, and C2F4O. This approach resulted in 12 identified PFAS HS, including compounds belonging to the HS of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFACAs), perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFASAs), (N-pentafluoro(5)sulfide)-perfluoroalkane sulfonates (SF5-PFASAs), N-sulfopropyldimethylammoniopropyl perfluoroalkane sulfonamides (N-SPAmP-FASA), and N-carboxymethyldimethylammoniopropyl perfluoroalkane sulfonamide (N-CMAmP-FASA). The annotated categories of perfluoroalkyl aldehydes and chlorinated PFASAs represent the first record of PFAS HS in the investigated AFFF samples.

This study aims to provide the first report on the soluble and polyphenolic profiles of “Farmacista Honorati” (FH) persimmons, which is a marketed cultivar with no existing data on its nutraceutical value. Total soluble tannins (TSTs) and major soluble (poly)phenols in FH fruits before and after post-harvest commercial treatments with carbon dioxide and ethylene were analyzed. Fruits at commercial harvest had a TST content of 1022 ± 286 mg GAL/100 g d.w. Whereas, after deastringency treatments, an 85% and 83% reduction were observed for carbon dioxide- and ethylene-treated fruits, respectively. Carbon dioxide treatment resulted in the insolubilization of tannins around comparable values in most fruit cultivars, despite the variable soluble tannin content in untreated fruit. By targeted metabolomic profiling, nineteen (poly)phenolic substances were quantified in the investigated untreated and treated fruits. Gallic acid (99 mg/100 g d.w.), (+)-catechin (1.8 mg/100 g d.w.), ellagic acid (1.2 mg/100 g d.w.), and (−)-epicatechin (1.1 mg/100 g d.w.) were the predominant compounds in the untreated FH samples. After the application of post-harvest treatments, a non-nutraceutical relevant decrease of 8-19% in the targeted (poly)phenolic content was generally observed. Ethylene induced the most significant reduction in the individual (poly)phenolic compounds in the FH fruits.

Forestry-waste biochar was tested as a commercial substrate (peat:lapillus 1:1 v/v) amendment in growing tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Substrates were 0% (control), 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40% (% v/v) biochar-enriched and were characterized for their textural and physicochemical properties. After harvesting, tomato production (i.e., plant and fruits), quality (e.g., nutrition and nutraceutics), and safety (i.e., biochar-related pollutants) were assessed according to the different growing media. 10-to-40% biochar-enriched substrates only exceeded the pH threshold set by L.D. 75/2010. Ni and Mn exhibited a similar trend between substrates and fruits, while Cr, Pb, and Cd were absent. Plant biomass increased (up to 11-29%) according to biochar content, which conversely diminished fruit production (similar to 25-60% reduction). Only acenaphthene exhibited an increasing profile (11-12 mu g kg(-1)) according to the treatments, nevertheless complying with the European regulations. PLS-DA confirmed practice suitability by substrate-crop correlation, providing prediction models for quality and safety assessment.