Blighia sapida Waste Biochar in Batch and Fixed-Bed Adsorption of Chloroquine Phosphate: Efficacy Validation Using Artificial Neural Networks

The present study investigated the potency of biochar prepared from Blighia sapida seedpods (BSSPs) in the uptake of chloroquine phosphate (CQP) from single-component batch and multicomponent fixed-bed adsorption systems. BSSPs presented a highly porous structure with a BET surface area of 1122.05 m2/g, to which adsorption efficiency correlated. The Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm energy was obtained as 129.09 kJ/mol, confirming the chemisorption nature of the BSSP-CQP adsorption system. The efficiency of the artificial neural network (ANN) was evaluated using the lowest mean square error (MSE = 7.27) and highest correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.9910). A good agreement between the experimental results and the ANN-predicted data indicated the efficiency of the model. The percentage removal of 95.78% obtained for the column adsorption studies indicated the effectiveness of BSSPs in a multicomponent system. The mechanism of the interaction proceeded via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction. This was confirmed by the high desorption efficiency (69.11%) with a HCl eluent. The degree of reversibility was found to be 2.95, indicating the reusability potential of BSSPs. BSSPs are therefore considered multilayered adsorbents with potential applications in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

Innovative Materials and Processes for Removal of Biopersistent Pollutants

The aim of this Special Issue “Innovative Materials and Processes for Removal of Biopersistent Pollutants” (https://www [...]

Recent Advances on Innovative Materials from Biowaste Recycling for the Removal of Environmental Estrogens from Water and Soil

New technologies have been developed around the world to tackle current emergencies such as biowaste recycling, renewable energy production and reduction of environmental pollution. The thermochemical and biological conversions of waste biomass for bioenergy production release solid coproducts and byproducts, namely biochar (BC), hydrochar (HC) and digestate (DG), which can have important environmental and agricultural applications. Due to their physicochemical properties, these carbon-rich materials can behave as biosorbents of contaminants and be used for both wastewater treatment and soil remediation, representing a valid alternative to more expensive products and sophisticated strategies. The alkylphenols bisphenol A, octylphenol and nonylphenol possess estrogenic activity comparable to that of the human steroid hormones estrone, 17β-estradiol (and synthetic analog 17α-ethinyl estradiol) and estriol. Their ubiquitous presence in ecosystems poses a serious threat to wildlife and humans. Conventional wastewater treatment plants often fail to remove environmental estrogens (EEs). This review aims to focus attention on the urgent need to limit the presence of EEs in the environment through a modern and sustainable approach based on the use of recycled biowaste. Materials such as BC, HC and DG, the last being examined here for the first time as a biosorbent, appear appropriate for the removal of EEs both for their negligible cost and continuously improving performance and because their production contributes to solving other emergencies, such as virtuous management of organic waste, carbon sequestration, bioenergy production and implementation of the circular economy. Characterization of biosorbents, qualitative and quantitative aspects of the adsorption/desorption process and data modeling are examined.