Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on particulate matter emitted during the co-generation of bioenergy and biochar from rice husk

Treatment of aqueous per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances: A review of biochar adsorbent preparation methods

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals widely used in everyday products, causing elevated concentrations in drinking water and posing a global challenge. While adsorption methods are commonly employed for PFAS removal, the substantial cost and environmental footprint of commercial adsorbents highlight the need for more cost-effective alternatives. Additionally, existing adsorbents exhibit limited effectiveness, particularly against diverse PFAS types, such as short-chain PFAS, necessitating modifications to enhance adsorption capacity. Biochar can be considered a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative to conventional adsorbents. With abundant feedstocks and favorable physicochemical properties, biochar shows significant potential to be applied as an adsorbent for removing contaminants from water. Despite its effectiveness in adsorbing different inorganic and organic contaminants from water environments, some factors restrict its effective application for PFAS adsorption. These factors are related to the biochar properties, and characteristics of PFAS, as well as water chemistry. Therefore, some modifications have been introduced to overcome these limitations and improve biochar's adsorption capacity. This review explores the preparation conditions, including the pyrolysis process, activation, and modification techniques applied to biochar to enhance its adsorption capacity for different types of PFAS. It addresses critical questions about the adsorption performance of biochar and its composites, mechanisms governing PFAS adsorption, challenges, and future perspectives in this field. The surge in research on biochar for PFAS adsorption indicates a growing interest, making this timely review a valuable resource for future research and an in-depth exploration of biochar's potential in PFAS remediation.

Formation mechanisms and degradation methods of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochar: A review

Biochar has been widely used in soil amendment and environmental remediation. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) could be produced in preparation of biochar, which may pose potential risks to the environment and human health. At present, most studies focus on the ecotoxicity potential of biochar, while there are few systematic reviews on the formation mechanisms and mitigation strategies of PAHs in biochar. Therefore, a systematical understanding of the distribution, formation mechanisms, risk assessment, and degradation approaches of PAHs in biochar is highly needed. In this paper, the distribution and content of the total and bioavailable PAHs in biochar are reviewed. Then the formation mechanisms, influencing factors, and potential risk assessment of PAHs in biochar are systematically explored. After that, the effective strategies to alleviate PAHs in biochar are summarized. Finally, suggestions and perspectives for future studies are proposed. This review provides a guide for reducing the formation of biochar-associated PAHs and their toxicity, which is beneficial for the development and large-scale safe use of environmentally friendly biochar.

Occurrence, distribution, and toxicity assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochar, biocrude, and biogas obtained from pyrolysis of agricultural residues

Occurrence, distribution, and toxicity assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pyrolysis steams (biochar, biocrude, and biogas) of three agricultural residues was investigated at pyrolysis temperatures of 400-800 °C. Increasing PAHs formation was observed in the narrow temperature range (500-600 °C) in all feedstocks due to temperature-induced dehydration, decarboxylation, and dehydrogenation reactions. Low molecular weight PAHs (naphthalene, phenanthrene) were dominant in all product streams while high molecular weight PAHs were found in negligible concentrations. Leaching studies showed that pyrolyzed biochars produced at lower temperatures are more prone to leaching due to the presence of hydrophilic amorphous uncarbonized structures, while the presence of hydrophobic carbonized matrix with denser and stronger polymetallic complex prevents the leaching of PAHs in the high temperature pyrolyzed biochar. Low leaching potential, low toxic equivalency, and permissible total PAHs values in biochar derived from all three feedstocks warrant the broader application and ensure ecological safety.

Rice husk waste into various template-engineered mesoporous silica materials for different applications: A comprehensive review on recent developments

Following the discovery of Stöber silica, the realm of morphology-controlled mesoporous silica nanomaterials like MCM-41, SBA-15, and KCC-1 has been expanded. Due to their high BET surface area, tunable pores, easiness of functionalization, and excellent thermal and chemical stability, these materials take part a vital role in the advancement of techniques and technologies for tackling the world's largest challenges in the area of water and the environment, energy storage, and biotechnology. Synthesizing these materials with excellent physicochemical properties from cost-efficient biomass wastes is a foremost model of sustainability. Particularly, SiO₂ with a purity >98% can be obtained from rice husk (RH), one of the most abundant biomass wastes, and can be template engineered into various forms of mesoporous silica materials in an economic and eco-friendly way. Hence, this review initially gives insight into why to valorize RH into value-added silica materials. Then the thermal, chemical, hydrothermal, and biological methods of high-quality silica extraction from RH and the principles of synthesis of mesoporous and fibrous mesoporous silica materials like SBA-15, MCM-41, MSNs, and KCC-1 are comprehensively discussed. The potential applications of rice husk-derived mesoporous silica materials in catalysis, drug delivery, energy, adsorption, and environmental remediation are explored. Finally, the conclusion and the future outlook are briefly highlighted.

Potential hazards of biochar: The negative environmental impacts of biochar applications

Biochar has been widely used as an environmentally friendly material for soil improvement and remediation, water pollution control, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and other purposes because of its characteristics such as a large surface area, porous structure, and abundant surface O-containing functional groups. However, some surface properties (i.e., (i) some surface properties (i.e., organic functional groups and inorganic components), (ii) changes in pH), and (iii) chemical reactions (e.g., aromatic C ring oxidation) that occur between biochar and the application environment may result in the release of harmful components. In this study, biochars with a potential risk to the environment were classified according to their harmful components, surface properties, structure, and particle size, and the potential negative environmental effects of these biochars and the mechanisms inducing these negative effects were reviewed. This article presents a comprehensive overview of the negative environmental impacts of biochar on soil, water, and atmospheric environments. It also summarizes various technical methods of environment-related risk detection and evaluation of biochar application, thereby providing a baseline reference and guiding significance for future biochar selection and toxicity detection, evaluation, and avoidance.

Effects of pyrolysis temperature on soil-plant-microbe responses to Solidago canadensis L.-derived biochar in coastal saline-alkali soil

Because salinity of coastal soils is drastically increasing, the application of biochars to saline-alkali soil amendments has attracted considerable attention. Various Solidago-canadensis-L.-derived biochars prepared through pyrolysis from 400 to 600 °C were applied to coastal saline-alkali soil samples to optimise the biochar pyrolysis temperature and investigate its actual ecological responses. All biochars reduced the soil bulk density and exchangeable sodium stress and increased soil water-holding capacity, cation exchange capacity, and organic matter content. Principal-component-analysis results showed that pyrolysis temperature played an important role in the potential application of biochars to improve the coastal saline-alkali soil, mainly contributed to ameliorating exchangeable sodium stress and decreasing biochar-soluble toxic compounds. Furthermore, soil bulk density and organic matter, as well as carboxylic acids, phenolic acids and amines of biochar were major driving factors for bacterial community composition. Compared to low-temperature biochar (pyrolyzed below 550 °C), which showed higher toxicity for Brassica chinensis L. growth due to the higher content of carboxylic acids, phenols and amines, high-temperature biochar (pyrolyzed at or above 550 °C) possessed less amounts of these toxic functional groups, more beneficial soil bacteria and healthier for plant growth. Therefore, high-temperature biochar could be applied as an effective soil amendment to ameliorate the coastal saline-alkali soil with acceptable environmental risk.

Consequence of replacing nitrogen with carbon dioxide as atmosphere on suppressing the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in catalytic pyrolysis of sawdust

This study evaluates the effect of replacement of N₂ with CO₂ as atmosphere in catalytic pyrolysis of waste lignocellulosics with acidic and metal-modified zeolites, respectively, on the 16 EPA priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bio-oils. By coupling solid phase extraction pretreatment with single ion monitoring detection, it is found that the replacement alleviates PAHs in bio-oil concerning synchronously abating the 16 PAHs with low, medium and high molecular weights, and the benzo[a]pyrene equivalent toxicity of bio-oil decreases. Meanwhile, CO₂ decreases the content of small oxygenates, e.g. furans, ketones, acids, and increases phenolics and aromatics affording more stable and valuable bio-oils. Moreover, CO₂ enhances carbon conversion efficiency, especially in combination with Fe-modified zeolite, which presents a synergistic effect. This study indicates the practical application of CO₂ as an atmosphere in catalytic pyrolysis to improve the bio-oil quality by suppressing PAHs formation and adjusting compound constituent.

Influence of pyrolysis temperature on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons production and tetracycline adsorption behavior of biochar derived from spent coffee ground

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different pyrolysis temperatures on the formation of polycyclicaromatichydrocarbons (PAHs) in biochar originated spent coffee ground (SCG) and the tetracycline (TC) adsorption behavior of biochar in water. The results showed that biochar synthesized at 500 °C (SCG 500) contained low PAHs (600 µg kg^-1) and the highest TC adsorption efficiency. In addition, the characteristics, influencing factors on TC adsorption, and the related mechanisms of SCG 500 were comprehensively investigated. The results showed that the highest efficiency was observed at pH of 7 and the presence of ions in salinity solution reduced the adsorption capacity of SCG 500. The electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, and π-EDA were the major adsorption mechanisms. Safety PAHs level, low-cost, widely material sources and high TC removal capacity suggested that SCG 500 was a promising environmentally friendly effective absorbent.

Effect of pyrolysis conditions on the total contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in biochars produced from organic residues: Assessment of their hazard potential

The interest of using biochar, the solid byproduct from organic waste pyrolysis, as soil conditioner is significantly increasing. Nevertheless, persistent organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are formed during pyrolysis due to the incomplete combustion of organic matter. Consequently, these pollutants may enter the environment when biochar is incorporated into soil and cause adverse ecological effects. In this study, we examined the content of the 16 United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) PAHs in biochars produced from rice husk, wood, wheat and sewage sludge residues using three different pyrolytic reactors and temperatures (400, 500 and 600 °C). The total concentration of PAHs (∑PAH) ranged from 799 to 6364 μg kg^-1, being naphthalene, phenanthrene and anthracene the most abundant PAHs in all the biochars. The maximum amount of PAHs was observed for the rice husk biochar produced in the batch reactor at 400 °C, which decreased with increasing temperature. The ∑PAH value of the wood biochar produced via traditional kilns doubled compared with the wood biochar produced using the other pyrolytic reactors (5330 μg kg^-1 in Kiln; 2737 μg kg^-1 in batch and 1942 μg kg^-1 in the rotary reactor). Looking for a more reliable risk assessment of the potential exposure of PAHs in biochar, the total toxic equivalent concentrations (TTEC) of the 14 produced biochars were calculated. When comparing the same feedstock and temperature, TTEC values indicated that the rotary reactor produced the safest biochars. In contrast, the biochars produced using the batch reactor at 400 and 500 °C have the greatest hazard potential. Our results provide valuable information on the potential risk of biochar application for human and animal health, as well as for the environment due to PAHs contamination.

Impact of pyrolysis conditions on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formation in particulate matter (PM) during sewage sludge pyrolysis

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) not only present a risk to human health when released into the air, but also can be precursors to form particulate matter (PM) during sewage sludge pyrolysis. In this study, 16 EPA PAHs in PM (ΣPAH_PM) during sewage sludge pyrolysis were investigated with increasing temperature (200^oC-1000 °C) and holding time under different operation conditions [inert gas flow rate (IGFR) (200-800 mL/min) and heating rate (5-20 °C/min)]. ΣPAH_PM varied with temperature, IGFR, and heating rate, and ranged from 597 (±41) μg/g to 3240 (±868) μg/g. ΣPAH_PM decreased with increasing IGFR but increased with rapid heating rate. Among PAHs species in PM, naphthalene (Nap) was commonly detected at low temperature ranges in all tested conditions. Chrysene (CHR), benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), indeno[1,2,3-cd] pyrene (IND), and benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BghiP) in PM became abundant at high temperature with a low IGFR. At high temperature ranges with high volatile conditions (rapid heating rate and low IGFR), PAH formation and growth reactions were considerable, resulting in the formation of heavy PAHs in PM.

Emission characteristics of a pyrolysis-combustion system for the co-production of biochar and bioenergy from agricultural wastes

The co-production of biochar and bioenergy using pyrolysis-combustion processes can potentially minimize the emission problems associated with conventional methods of agricultural by-product disposal. This approach also provides significant added-value potential through biochar application to soil. Despite these advantages, variations in biomass composition, including sulfur, nitrogen, ash, and volatile matter (VM) content, may significantly influence both the biochar quality and the emissions of harmful particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants (SO₂, H₂S, NO₂, NO). Using a laboratory-scale continuous pyrolysis-combustion facility, the influence of biomass composition (rice husk and grape pruning) and volatile production (pyrolysis) temperature (400-800 °C) on the biochar properties and emissions during combustion of the raw pyrolysis volatiles were evaluated. Utilization of grape pruning resulted in higher energy-based yields of PM₁₀ than the rice husk, the majority of which consisted of the PM_1.1 fraction due to the elevated pyrogas content of the volatiles. The PM emissions were found to be independent of the feedstock ash content due to its retainment in the biochar. Greater volatilization of biomass sulfur and nitrogen during pyrolysis at higher temperatures resulted in higher yields of sulfurous and nitrogenous gaseous pollutants. The energy-based yields of NO and NO₂ were found to increase by 16% and 50% for rice husk and 21% and 189% for grape pruning respectively between 400 and 800 °C. The same trend was also observed for the emissions of H₂S and SO₂ for both feedstocks.