• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.47-53
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• 2012

In this study, the adsorption of $Cu^{2+}$ and $Cd^{2+}$ from aqueous solution on the biochar derived from used coffee grounds at different pyrolysis temperatures has been investigated as a potential low-cost treatment method for heavy metal-containing waters. Three biochar samples prepared by heating coffee sludge at temperature of $300^{\circ}C$ (B300), $500^{\circ}C$ (B500), and $700^{\circ}C$ (B700) were tested for the adsorption capacity and kinetics of Cd and Cu. Also the influencing factor of heavy metal removal by ion exchange in terms of cation exchange capacity (CEC) of each biochar was measured. Adsorption of Ca and Cu by biochar produced at higher pyrolysis temperature showed higher adsorption capacity but the optimal pyrolysis temperature based on performance and economy was known as $500^{\circ}C$. Sorption of Cu and Cd by biochar followed a Langmuir model at pH 6~6.5, attributing mainly to surface sorption. The biochar was more effective in Cu and Cd sorption than activated carbon (AC), with BC 500 being the most effective, which indicates that sorption of Cd and Cu by coffee sludge biochar is partly influenced by chemical sorption on surface functional group as well as physical sorption.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.489-494
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• 2016

Carbon-based sorbents such as biochar and activated carbon have been proven to be cost-effective in removing pollutants containing heavy metals from wastewater. The aim of this study was using batch experiment to evaluate the adsorption characteristics of heavy metals in single-metal conditions onto reed biochar for treating wastewater containing heavy metals. The removal rates of heavy metals were in the order of Pb > $Cu{\fallingdotseq}Cd{\fallingdotseq}Zn$, showing the adsorption efficiency of Pb was higher than the other heavy metals. Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were used to model the equilibrium adsorption data obtained from adsorption of Pb on reed biochar. For reed biochar, the Langmuir model provided a slightly better fit than the Freundlich model. Lead was observed on the biochar surface after adsorption by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The main functional groups of reed biochar were aromatic carbons. Overall, the results suggested that reed biochar could be useful adsorbent for treating wastewater containing Pb.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2020

Astragalus uliginosus L.-stems as a by-product of oriental medicine are produced largely in a northern area of Chungbuk province. These by-products do not have any demand and thus usually discarded into the fields as a waste. In this work, a biochar was prepared from the Astragalus uliginosus L.-stem waste for recycling. The biochar was used to investigate the removal characteristics of cadmium and manganese ions dissolved in water. When adsorption equilibrium experiments were performed to treat 50 and 100 mg/L of cadmium ions, the removal efficiencies of cadmium were 100 and 95%, respectively. In addition, the maximum of adsorption amount for manganese ions in 5 h at an initial concentration of 50 and 100 mg/L was found to be as 36.1 and 37.9 mg/g, respectively. Based on the experimental results, it was found that the adsorption amount of Astragalus uliginosus L.-stem biochar for the removal of both cadmium and manganese ions was four times higher than that of the activated carbon. The surface analysis of both biochar and activated carbon samples using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the oxygen content and O/C ratio of biochar was 2.1 and 2.4 times higher than that of the activated carbon, respectively. In order to enhance the removal capability of manganese, 50 and 100 mg/L of manganese ions were operated at different temperatures. It was observed that these equilibrium was attained in 4 h under 45 ℃ and removal efficiencies were 92 and 53%, respectively. Consequently, the experimental results can be utilized as a new removal technology for eco-friendly and economically treating cadmium and manganese ions dissolved in water.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2022.11a
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• pp.169-170
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• 2022

Due to the higher use of nonrenewable fossil fuel energy, environment friendly sustainable energy from waste materials is attracting attention of the researchers. Considering that, jute stick (JS) biochar has been considered for this study for ecofriendly and sustainable thermal energy storage application. Waste jute sticks (JS), which are being mainly used as a fuel for cooking purpose, have been pyrolyzed to produce porous biochar and have been used for shape stabilization of stearic acid (SA) as phase change material (PCM). SA at 1:1 ratio has been incorporated into the activated JS biochar to concoct shape-stabilized phase change composite (SAJS). The SAJS has been evaluated by different techniques such as Fourier transform-infrared spectroscope (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The obtained composite PCM has shown excellent shape stability with a high latent heat storage, suggesting its suitability for thermal energy storage applications.

• Carbon letters
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• v.19
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• pp.79-88
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• 2016

As a replacement for activated carbon, biochar was synthesized and used for the adsorptive removal of formaldehyde and nitrogen oxide. Biochar was produced from the fast pyrolysis of the red marine macro alga, Pyropia tenera. The P. tenera char was then activated with steam, ammonia and KOH to alter its characteristics. The adsorption of formaldehyde, which is one of the main indoor air pollutants, onto the seaweed char was performed using 1-ppm formaldehyde and the char was activated using a range of methods. The char activated with both the KOH and ammonia treatments showed the highest adsorptive removal efficiency, followed by KOH-treated char, ammonia-treated char, steam-treated char, and non-activated char. The removal of 1000-ppm NO over untreated char, KOH-treated char, and activated carbon was also tested. While the untreated char exhibited little activity, the KOH-treated char removed 80% of the NO at 50℃, which was an even higher NO removal efficiency than that achieved by activated carbon.

• Clean Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.272-278
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• 2023

There is a lot of interest in methods for pollutants using adsorption, and recent research is being conducted to show that biochar can be used to remove organic and inorganic pollutants. In particular, wood waste as waste biomass requires a biomass recycling method, and a method to increase the adsorption capacity of biochar produced using wood waste is needed. Biochar is created by Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) using, which uses low temperature and high pressure, has low energy consumption and does not require moisture removal pretreatment, and biochar is created through chemical activation using KOH, NaOH, and ZnCl₂ chemicals. The adsorption characteristics of biochar were determined by analyzing iodine adsorptivity, specific surface area, pore diameter, pore volume, pore distribution, and SEM according to the activation. The results of analyzing the selecting biochar by activating the biochar produced at HTC 300℃, 4 hr by KOH, NaOH, and ZnCl₂ chemicals, the specific surface area was 774~1.387 m²/g, showing a high specific surface area similar to activated carbon, and it was confirmed that micropores with an average pore diameter in the range of 21~24 Å were formed. As a result of SEM observation, the surface was uniform with a certain shape depending on activation. It was confirmed that one pore was developed and the number of pores increased.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2022

The application of supplemental activated biochar pellet fertilizers (ABPFs) was evaluated by investigating key factors such as changes of surface paddy water and soil chemical properties and rice growth responses during the growing season. The treatments consisted of control, activated rice hull biochar pellet (ARHBP-40%), and activated palm biochar pellet (APBP-40%) applications. It was shown that the lowest NH₄⁺-N and PO₄^--P concentrations were observed in surface paddy water to the ARHBP-40%, while the NH₄⁺-N concentration in the control was abruptly decreased until 30 days after transplant in the soil. However, the lowest NH₄⁺-N concentration in the blended biochar application was 9.18 mg L^-1 at 1 day of transplant, but its ABPFs application was observed to be less than 1 mg L^-1 at 56 days after transplant. The lowest PO₄^--P concentration in paddy water treated ARHBP-40% ranged from 0.06 mg L^-1 to 0.08 mg L^-1 until 30 days after transplant among the treatments. For the paddy soil, the NH₄⁺-N concentration in the control was abruptly decreased from 177.7 mg kg^-1 to 49.4 mg kg^-1, while NO₃^--N concentration was highest, 13.2 mg kg^-1 in 14 days after transplant. The P₂O₅ concentrations in the soils increased from rice transplants until the harvesting period regardless of the treatments. The highest K₂O concentration was 252.8 mg kg^-1 in the APBP-40% at 84 days after transplant. For the rice growth responses, plant height in the control was relatively high compared to others, but grain yield was not significantly different between the control and ARHBP-40%. The application of ARHBP-40% can minimize nitrogen and phosphorous application rates into the agro-ecosystem.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.536-544
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• 2020

To address organic dye wastewater, economic and effective adsorbents are required. Here, magnetic biochar from alkali-activated rice straw (AMBC) was successfully synthesized using one-step magnetization and carbonization method. The alkaline activation caused the large specific surface area, high pore volume and abundant oxygen-containing groups of the AMBC, and the magnetization gave the AMBC a certain degree of electropositivity and fast equilibrium characteristics. These characteristics collectively contributed to a relative high adsorption capacity of 53.66 mg g^-1 for this adsorbent towards rhodamine B (RhB). In brief, RhB can spontaneously adsorb onto the heterogeneous surface of the AMBC and reach the equilibrium in 60 min. Although the initial pH, ionic strength and other substances of the solution affected the adsorption performance of the AMBC, it could be easily regenerated and reused with considerable adsorption content. Based on the results, H-bonds, π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions were speculated as the primary mechanisms for RhB adsorption onto the AMBC, which was also demonstrated by the FTIR analysis. With the advantageous features of low cost, easy separation, considerable adsorption capacity and favorable stability and reusability, the AMBC would be a potential adsorbent for removing organic dyes from wastewater.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.384-392
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• 2020

The presence of high fluoride concentration (> 1.5 mg/L) in water causes serious health problems such as fluorosis, infertility, brain damage, etc., which are endemic to many places in the world. This study has investigated the fluoride removal capacity of the novel activated biochar (BTS) and hydrochar (HTS) using Teff (Eragrostis tef) straw as a precursor. Activated biochar with mesoporous structures and large specific surface area of 627.7 ㎡/g were prepared via pyrolysis process. Low-cost carbonaceous hydrochar were also synthesized by an acid assisted hydrothermal carbonization process. Results obtained from both adsorbents show that the best local maximum fluoride removal was achieved at pH 2, contact time 120 min and agitation speed 200 rpm. The thermodynamic studies proved that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Both adsorbents equilibrium data fitted to Langmuir isotherm. However, Freundlich isotherm fitted best for BTS. The maximum fluoride loading capacity of BTS and HTS was found to be 212 and 88.7 mg/g, respectively. The variation could primarily be attributed to a relatively larger Surface area for BTS. Hence, to treat fluoride contaminated water, BTS can be promising as an effective adsorbent.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.753-762
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• 2018

The present study set out to investigate the adsorption of Cd(II) ions in an aqueous solution by using Peanut Husk Biochar (PHB). An FT-IR analysis revealed that the PHB contained carboxylic and carbonyl groups, O-H carboxylic acids, and bonded-OH groups, such that it could easily adsorb heavy metals. The adsorption of Cd(II) using PHB proved to be a better fit to the Langmuir isotherm than to the Freundlich isotherm. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity was 33.89 mg/g for Cd(II). The negative value of ${\Delta}G^o$ confirm that the process whereby Cd(II) is adsorbed onto PHB is feasible and spontaneous in nature. In addition, the value of ${\Delta}G^o$ increase with the temperature, suggesting that a lower temperature is more favorable to the adsorption process. The negative value of ${\Delta}H^o$ indicates that the adsorption phenomenon is exothermic while the negative value of ${\Delta}S^o$ suggests that the process is enthalpy-driven. As an alternative to commercial activated carbon, PHB could be used as a low-cost and environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing Cd(II) from aqueous solutions.