• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1-10
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• 2022

This study assessed the feasibility of iron oxide nanoparticles impregnated with biochar (INPBC), derived from woody biomass, as a stabilizing agent for the stabilization of farmland soil in the vicinity of an abandoned mine through pot experiments with 28 days of lettuce growth. The lettuce grown in the INPBC amended soils increased by more than 100% and the concentrations of inorganic elements (Cu, Ni, Zn) decreased by more than 40%. As, Cd and Pb were not transferred properly from the soils to the lettuce biomass. The bioavailability of arsenic and heavy metals in the INPBC amended soils were decreased by 26%~50%. It seems that the major mechanisms of stabilization were arsenic adsorption on iron oxides, heavy metal precipitation by soil pH increasing and heavy metal adsorption on organic matter. These results revealed that the lower bioavailability of the inorganic pollutants in the soils stabilized using INPBC induced lower transfer to the lettuce. Thus, INPBC could be used as an amendment material for the stabilization of farmland soils contaminated by arsenic and heavy metals. However, a pre-review of the chemical properties of the amended soil must be performed prior to applying INPBC in farmland soil because the concentration of the nutrients in the soil such as available phosphates and exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K) could be decreased due to adsorption on the surface of the iron oxides and organic matter.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2023

The fine particulate structure of biochar limits its use as a heavy metal adsorbent, and makes separation of the biochar from the solution technically challenging, thereby reducing recovery of the heavy metals. To address this issue, this study prepared biochar beads under various mixing conditions and investigated their efficiency in removing Pb from aqueous solutions using adsorption models. The biochar beads were produced by mixing alginate and biochar at different ratios: alginate bead (AB), 1% biochar + bead (1-BB), 2.5% biochar + bead (2.5-BB), and 5% biochar + bead (5-BB). The results revealed that the Freundlich isothermal adsorption pattern of the biochar beads to Pb was of the L-type. The highest Langmuir isothermal adsorption capacity (28.736 mg/g) was observed in the 2.5-BB treatment. The dominant mechanism among the kinetic adsorption characteristics of biochar beads for Pb was chemical adsorption. Additionally, the optimal pH range for Pb adsorption was found to be between 4 and 5.5. The highest Pb removal efficiency (97.9%) was achieved when 26.6 g/L of biochar beads were used. These findings suggest that biochar beads are an economical and highly efficient adsorbent that enables separation and recovery of fine biochar particles.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.67-77
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• 2011

Heavy metal remediation in shooting range soil is a challenge over the world. The excessive Pb accumulation in the soil can deteriorate soil quality and fertility. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the efficiency of biochar (BC) in improving the physicochemical and biological properties of the soil and to evaluate its effect on Pb availability in a military shooting range soil. Sandy loam soil was collected from shooting range of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea and was incubated for 30 days with different application rates (0-30% w $w^{-1}$) of BC. The results showed that the addition of BC increased aggregate stability, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents, and enzyme activities in soil. Sequential extraction showed that residual and organic bound fractions in the soil amended with BC increased by 33.1 and 16.7%, respectively, and the exchangeable fraction decreased by 93.7% in the soil amended with BC, compared to the unamended soil. We concluded that the application of BC could not only improve physicochemical and biological soil qualities but also stabilize Pb in a shooting range soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.110-110
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• 2017

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.332-339
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• 2015

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different biochars on the removal of heavy metals from aqueous media. The experiment was carried out in aqueous solutions containing $200mg\;CdL^{-1}$ or $200mg\;PbL^{-1}$ using two different biochars derived from soybean stover and orange peel (20 mg Cd or $Pbg^{-1}$ biochar). After shaking for 24 hours, biochars were filtered out, and Cd and Pb in the filtrate were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS). In order to provide information regarding metal binding strength on biochars, sequential extraction was performed by modified SM&T (formerly BCR). The results showed that 70~100% of initially added Cd and Pb was adsorbed on biochars and removed from aqueous solution. The removal rate of Pb (95%, 100%) was higher than that of Cd (70%, 91%). In the case of Cd, orange peel derived biochar (91%) showed higher adsorption rate than soybean stover derived biochar (70%). Cd was adsorbed on the biochar mainly in exchangeable and carbonates fraction (1st phase). In contrast, Pb was adsorbed on it mainly in the form of Fe-Mn oxides and residual fraction (2nd and 4th phase). The existence of Cd and Pb as a form of surface-precipitated complex was also observed on the surfaces of biochars detected by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDAX).

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2015

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis using X-ray absorption spectroscopy is being applied as a state-of-the-art method in a wide range of disciplines. This review article summarizes the overall procedure of XAFS analysis from the preparation of soil samples to the analysis of data in X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) region and extended Xray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) region. The previous studies on application of XANES and EXAFS techniques in environmental soil science field are discussed and classified them according to metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn). A significant number of previous studies of XAFS application in the environmental soil science field have focused on the identification of Pb chemical species in soil. Moreover, XANES and EXAFS techniques have been widely used to investigate the contamination source via identification of metal species. Similarly, these techniques were applied to identify the mechanisms of metal stabilization in soil after application of various amendments, phytoremediation, etc.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.231-238
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Biochar (BC) has a great potential for enhancing soil fertility and carbon sequestration while facilitating beneficial waste disposition. Therefore, it is essential to assess and mitigate any inadvertent consequences associated with soil biochar amendment. Earthworm activity is very vital in the soil system, yet there are a limited number of studies that have examined their impact resulting from biochar application to soil. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, the survival, growth, reproductive tests, and oxidative DNA damage tests (measured by 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and catalase (CAT) activities) to assess the potential toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida in artificial soil amended with BCs were investigated. The BCs derived from perilla meal, sesame meal, and pumpkin seed were pyrolyzed at 300 and $550^{\circ}C$, and then amended with soil at a rate of 5%. All the earthworms survived, but lost weight compared to control soil after 28 day incubation period. Moreover, the BC-amended soils did not significantly affect the cocoon numbers of earthworms. Slightly higher concentrations of 8-OHdG and CAT were observed in earthworms present in BC-treated soil than those in control soil. Furthermore, the 8-OHdG concentrations in the soil amended with BC produced at $550^{\circ}C$ were greater than those at $300^{\circ}C$, and it slightly decreased as the incubation time increased. CONCLUSION: These observations could be due to higher contents of toxic metal(loid)s and also higher pH in BCs pyrolyzed at $550^{\circ}C$ than $300^{\circ}C$. While BC is efficiently being used in agricultural fields, this study suggests that it is required to assess the unintended negative impacts of BC on soil ecosystems.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.432-440
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• 2015

Biochar, a by-product from pyrolysis of biomass, is a promising option to mitigate climate change by increasing soil carbon sequestration. This material is also considered to have potential to remediate a soil with heavy metal pollution by increasing the soil's adsorptive capacity. This study conducted the assessment of two biochars considering the climate change mitigation potential and heavy metal removal capacity at the same time. Two kinds of biochars (BC_Ch, TW_Ch) were prepared by pyrolyzing the biomass of burcucumber (BC_Bm) and tea waste (TW_Bm). The soils polluted with Pb were mixed with biochars or biomass and incubated for 60 d. During the incubation, $CO_2$, $CH_4$, and $N_2O$ were regularly measured and the soil before and after incubation was analyzed for chemical and biological parameters including the acetate extractable Pb. The results showed that only the BC_Ch treatment significantly reduced the amount of Pb after 60 d incubation. During the incubation, the $CO_2$ and $N_2O$ emissions from the BC_Ch and TW_Ch were decreased by 24% and 34% compared to the BC_Bm and TW_Bm, respectively. The $CH_4$ emissions were not significantly affected by biochar treatments. We calculated the GWP considering the production of amendment materials, application to the soils, removal of Pb, and soil carbon storage. The BC_Ch treatment had the most negative value because it had the higher Pb adsorption and soil carbon sequestration. Our results imply that if we apply biochar made from burcucumber, we could expect the pollution reduction and climate change mitigation at the same time.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.33-41
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• 2018

Large amounts of leaves from street trees fall onto the streets annually and need to be cleaned and treated. Cherry trees are common street trees in Korea. The adsorption characteristics of Pb(II) by cherry leaf (CL) and cherry leaf-derived biochar (CB) were studied through a series of batch experiments. CB was produced through the carbonization of CL at $800^{\circ}C$ for 90 min. Carbonization increased the C content and pH value, while decreased H and O contents. Well developed pore structure was observed at the surface of CB. The pseudo-second order model better described the kinetics of Pb(II) adsorption onto CL and CB, indicating that the rate-limiting step of the heavy metal sorption is chemical sorption. Fast adsorption rates and high adsorption capacities were obtained by the carbonization from CL to CB. Langmuir models better adequately described the Pb(II) adsorption onto CL and CB. Maximum adsorption capacities of Pb(II) expressed by Langmuir constant, $Q^0$ were 37.31 mg/g and 94.34 mg/g, when CL and CB were used as adsorbents, respectively.