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Kottis T, Soursos N, Govatsi K, Sygellou L, Vakros J, Manariotis ID, Mantzavinos D, Lianos P. Biochar from olive tree twigs and spent malt rootlets as electrodes in Zn-air batteries. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 665:10-18. [PMID: 38513404 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.03.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2024] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Biochars, i.e. porous carbons obtained by pyrolysis of biomass, can act as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution and oxygen reduction reaction. In the present work, two biochars have been prepared by using materials of completely different biomass origin: olive-tree twigs and spent malt rootlets (brewery wastes). Both biomass species were subjected to pyrolysis under limited oxygen supply and then they were activated by mixing with KOH and pyrolysis again. The obtained biochars were characterized by several techniques in order to determine their structural characteristics and the composition of their active components. Despite their different origin, the two biochars demonstrated similar structural and compositional characteristics thus highlighting the importance of the pyrolysis and activation procedure. Both biochars were used as electrocatalysts in the operation of rechargeable Zn-air batteries, where they also demonstrated similar electrocatalytic capacities with only a small advantage gained by olive-tree-twigs biochar. Compared to bare nanoparticulate carbon (carbon black), both biochars demonstrated a marked advantage towards oxygen evolution reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodoros Kottis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece
| | - Nikolaos Soursos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece
| | - Katerina Govatsi
- Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis, School of Natural Sciences, University of Patras 26500 Greece
| | - Lamprini Sygellou
- Foundation of Research and Technology - Institute of Chemical Engineering Science (FORTH/ICE-HT), Stadiou Str. Platani, P.O. Box 1414, Patras 26500, Greece
| | - John Vakros
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece.
| | - Ioannis D Manariotis
- Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering Laboratory, University of Patras, University Campus 26500 Patras, Greece
| | | | - Panagiotis Lianos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece.
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Behnami A, Pourakbar M, Ayyar ASR, Lee JW, Gagnon G, Zoroufchi Benis K. Treatment of aqueous per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances: A review of biochar adsorbent preparation methods. Chemosphere 2024; 357:142088. [PMID: 38643842 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Behnami
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Mojtaba Pourakbar
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran; Health and Environment Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | | | - Ji-Woong Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Nano-Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Novo Nordisk CO2 Research Center, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Graham Gagnon
- Centre for Water Resources Studies, Department of Civil & Resource Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Khaled Zoroufchi Benis
- Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
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Gupta M, Savla N, Pandit C, Pandit S, Gupta PK, Pant M, Khilari S, Kumar Y, Agarwal D, Nair RR, Thomas D, Thakur VK. Use of biomass-derived biochar in wastewater treatment and power production: A promising solution for a sustainable environment. Sci Total Environ 2022; 825:153892. [PMID: 35181360 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Over the past few years, we are witnessing the advent of a revolutionary bioengineering technology in biochar production and its application in waste treatment and an important component in power generation devices. Biochar is a solid product, highly rich in carbon, whose adsorption properties are ideal for wastewater decontamination. Due to its high specific surface area to volume ratio, it can be utilized for many environmental applications. It has diverse applications in various fields. This review focuses on its various applications in wastewater treatment to remove various pollutants such as heavy metals, dyes, organic compounds, and pesticides. This review also highlights several energy-based applications in batteries, supercapacitors, and microbial fuel cells. It described information about the different feedstock materials to produce LB-derived biochar, the various conditions for the production process, i.e., pyrolysis and the modification methods of biochar for improving properties required for wastewater treatment. The present review helps the readers understand the importance of biochar in wastewater treatment and its application in power generation in terms of batteries, supercapacitors, microbial fuel cells, applications in fuel production, pollutant and dye removal, particularly the latest development on using LB-derived biochar. This review also highlights the economic and environmental sustainability along with the commercialization of biochar plants. It also describes various pyrolytic reactors utilized for biochar production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meenal Gupta
- Department of Physics, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201306, India
| | - Nishit Savla
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Mumbai 410206, India
| | - Chetan Pandit
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201306, India
| | - Soumya Pandit
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201306, India.
| | - Piyush Kumar Gupta
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201306, India
| | - Manu Pant
- Department of Life Sciences, Graphic Era Deemed to be University Dehradun Uttarakhand, 248002, India
| | - Santimoy Khilari
- Department of Chemistry, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, C.G, Koni, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 495009, India
| | - Yogesh Kumar
- Department of Physics, ARSD College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110 021, India
| | - Daksh Agarwal
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Remya R Nair
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Mumbai 410206, India
| | - Dessy Thomas
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Mumbai 410206, India
| | - Vijay Kumar Thakur
- Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, SRUC, The King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG Edinburgh, UK; School of Engineering, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India.
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Nardis BO, Franca JR, Carneiro JSDS, Soares JR, Guilherme LRG, Silva CA, Melo LCA. Production of engineered-biochar under different pyrolysis conditions for phosphorus removal from aqueous solution. Sci Total Environ 2022; 816:151559. [PMID: 34785233 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater through biochar is an alternative to build a sustainable circular economy and save non-renewable P reservoirs. The efficiency of cations in removing P from wastewater under different pyrolysis conditions is still lacking. We aimed at studying P adsorption and release from biochar enriched with Al3+ and Mg2+, prepared under air-limited and N2-flow pyrolysis conditions. Biochar samples were produced from pig manure (PMB) and impregnated, separately, with 20% of AlCl3 and MgCl2 solutions on both pyrolysis conditions. The materials were characterized for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nutrient content, ash, specific surface area (SSA), pore-volume, FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDX. Phosphorus adsorption was studied by kinetics and adsorption isotherms, as well as desorption. The biochar impregnated with Mg2+ and produced in the muffle furnace achieved the maximum P adsorption (231 mg g-1), and 100% of the adsorbed P was released in solutions of Mehlich-1 and citric acid 2%. The pyrolysis conditions had a small or no influence on the biochar properties governing P adsorption, such as chemical functional groups, surface area, quantity and size of pores, and formation of synthetic minerals. Therefore, it is possible to produce biochar without using N2 as a carrier gas when it comes to P adsorption studies. Mechanisms of P removal comprise precipitation with cations, surface complexation, ligand exchange reactions, and electrostatic attraction on the biochar surface. Overall, Mg-impregnated biochar is a suitable matrix to remove P from aqueous media and to add value to organic residues while producing an environmentally friendly material for reuse in soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Olinda Nardis
- Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - José Romão Franca
- Department of Physics, Institute of Natural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | | | - Jenaina Ribeiro Soares
- Department of Physics, Institute of Natural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Luiz Roberto Guimarães Guilherme
- Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Carlos Alberto Silva
- Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Leônidas Carrijo Azevedo Melo
- Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, 37200-900 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
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Yuvaraj A, Thangaraj R, Karmegam N, Ravindran B, Chang SW, Awasthi MK, Kannan S. Activation of biochar through exoenzymes prompted by earthworms for vermibiochar production: A viable resource recovery option for heavy metal contaminated soils and water. Chemosphere 2021; 278:130458. [PMID: 34126688 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The industrial revolution and indiscriminate usage of a wide spectrum of agrochemicals account for the dumping of heavy metals in the environment. In-situ/ex-situ physical, chemical, and bioremediation strategies with pros and cons have been adopted for recovering metal contaminated soils and water. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement for a cost-effective and environment-friendly technique to combat metal pollution. Biochar combined with earthworms and vermifiltration is a suitable emerging technique for the remediation of metal-polluted soils and water. The chemical substances (e.g., sodium hydroxide, zinc chloride, potassium hydroxide, and phosphoric acid) have been used to activate biochar, which also faces several shortcomings. Studies reveal that extracellular enzymes have been used to activate biochar which is produced by earthworms and microbes that can alter the surface of the biochar. The present review focuses on the global scenario of metal pollution and its remediation through biochar activation using earthworms. The earthworms and biochar can produce "vermibiochar" which is capable of reducing the metal ions from contaminated water and soils. The vermifiltration can be a suitable technology for metal removal from wastewater/effluent. Thus, the biochar has a trick of producing entirely new options at a time when vermifiltration and other technologies are least expected. Further attention to the biochar-assisted vermifiltration of different sources of wastewater is required to be explored for the large-scale utilization of the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ananthanarayanan Yuvaraj
- Vermitechnology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Periyar University, Salem, 636 011, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ramasundaram Thangaraj
- Vermitechnology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Periyar University, Salem, 636 011, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Natchimuthu Karmegam
- Department of Botany, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, 636 007, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Balasubramani Ravindran
- Department of Environmental Energy and Engineering, Kyonggi University, Youngtong - Gu, Suwon, 16227, South Korea; Center for Environmental Nuclear Research, Directorate of Research, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur, 603203, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Soon Woong Chang
- Department of Environmental Energy and Engineering, Kyonggi University, Youngtong - Gu, Suwon, 16227, South Korea
| | - Mukesh Kumar Awasthi
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Taicheng Road 3#, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
| | - Soundarapandian Kannan
- Cancer Nanomedicine Laboratory, Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Periyar University, Salem, 636 011, Tamil Nadu, India
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de Caprariis B, De Filippis P, Hernandez AD, Petrucci E, Petrullo A, Scarsella M, Turchi M. Pyrolysis wastewater treatment by adsorption on biochars produced by poplar biomass. J Environ Manage 2017; 197:231-238. [PMID: 28391096 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2016] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/02/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Pyrolysis is a widely studied thermochemical process, however the disposal of the produced byproducts is an unexplored field. In particular, the acqueous phase, characterized by a high organic load (TOC), must be necessarily treated. Aims of this work is to study the potentiality of biochar as adsorbent material for the treatment of this wastewater. For this aim, pyrolysis wastewater and biochar produced in the same plant were used. Two biochars produced at different temperatures (550 and 750 °C) and an activated biochar produced by chemical activation with NaOH of the raw biomass were tested. The study shows that higher temperature in the biochar production leads to higher sorption capacity of the organic compounds due to an increase of the surface area. The activation process further increases the surface area of the biochar that becomes similar to that of a commercial activated carbon while the sorption capacity exceeds that of commercial activated carbon of 2.5 times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetta de Caprariis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy.
| | - Paolo De Filippis
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
| | - A David Hernandez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Petrucci
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonietta Petrullo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Scarsella
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, Italy
| | - Mattia Turchi
- Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
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Kołtowski M, Charmas B, Skubiszewska-Zięba J, Oleszczuk P. Effect of biochar activation by different methods on toxicity of soil contaminated by industrial activity. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2017; 136:119-125. [PMID: 27842277 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2016.10.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of various methods of biochar activation on the ecotoxicity of soils with various properties and with various content and origin of contaminants. The biochar produced from willow (at 700°C) was activated by 1) microwaves (in a microwave reactor under an atmosphere of water vapour), 2) carbon dioxide (in the quartz fluidized bed reactor) and 3) superheated steam (in the quartz fluidized bed reactor). Three different soils were collected from industrial areas. The soils were mixed with biochar and activated biochars at the dose of 5% and ecotoxicological parameters of mixture was evaluated using two solid phase test - Phytotoxkit F (Lepidium sativum) and Collembolan test (Folsomia candida) and one liquid phase test - Microtox® (Vibrio fischeri). Biochar activation had both positive and negative impacts, depending on the activation method, kind of bioassay and kind of soil. Generally, biochar activated by microwaves increased the effectiveness of ecotoxicity reduction relative to non-activated biochars. Whereas, biochar activated with CO2 most often cause a negative effect manifested by deterioration or as a lack of improvement in relation to non-activated biochar or to non-amended soil. It was also demonstrated that the increase of biochar specific surface area caused a significant reduction of toxicity of water leachates from the studied soils. Effectiveness of the reduction of leachate toxicity was weakened in the presence of dissolved organic carbon in the soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michał Kołtowski
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
| | - Barbara Charmas
- Department of Chromatographic Methods, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
| | - Jadwiga Skubiszewska-Zięba
- Department of Chromatographic Methods, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
| | - Patryk Oleszczuk
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Pl. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland.
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