Biochar as Sustainable Alternative and Green Adsorbent for the Remediation of Noxious Pollutants: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

The current water crisis necessitates the development of new materials for wastewater treatment. A variety of nanomaterials are continuously being investigated for their potential as adsorbents for environmental remediation. Researchers intend to develop a low-cost, simple, and sustainable material that can cater to removal of pollutants. Biochar derived from biowaste is a potential candidate for the existing problem of water pollution. The review focuses on the various aspects of biochar, such as its sources, preparation methods, mechanism, applications for wastewater treatment, and its regeneration. Compared with other adsorbents, biochar is considered as an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and cost-effective substitute for waste management, climate protection, soil improvement, wastewater treatment, etc. The special properties of biochar such as porosity, surface area, surface charge, and functional groups can be easily modified by various chemical methods, resulting in improved adsorption properties. Therefore, in view of the increasing environmental pollution and the problems encountered by researchers in treating pollutants, biochar is of great importance. This review also highlights the challenges and prospective areas that can be explored and studied in more detail in the future.

Remediation of emerging pollutants using biochar derived from aquatic biomass for sustainable waste and pollution management: a review

“…Compared to other thermochemical processes, microwave pyrolysis has effective heat transmission and a quicker reaction time, and the amount of bio-oil produced by microwave pyrolysis is quite low when compared to other traditional methods. 27 The ability of a material to convert microwave energy to heat depends on its dielectric characteristics, which can cause problems with microwave pyrolysis. Dielectric heating is a volumetric technique in which heat is produced inside the material by selective electromagnetic energy absorption.…”

“…Hence, slow pyrolysis is considered to be most effective for yielding BC with enhanced adsorptive capability. Compared to other thermochemical processes, microwave pyrolysis has effective heat transmission and a quicker reaction time, and the amount of bio‐oil produced by microwave pyrolysis is quite low when compared to other traditional methods 27 . The ability of a material to convert microwave energy to heat depends on its dielectric characteristics, which can cause problems with microwave pyrolysis.…”

The use of banana peel as a low-cost adsorption material for removing hexavalent chromium from tannery wastewater: optimization, kinetic and isotherm study, and regeneration aspects

“…13 Currently, most industries release wastewater containing heavy metals, which can be absorbed in living tissues, causing various disorders. 14 There are numerous sources of waste biomass in nature with reported adsorption properties, including rice husk, sawdust, tea and coffee waste, orange peel, peanut shells, dry tree leaves, and bark. 15 Among the different categories of adsorbents, BP seems to be a suitable adsorbent because of its low cost and environmentally friendly nature.…”

Performance of Pristine versus Magnetized Orange Peels Biochar Adapted to Adsorptive Removal of Daunorubicin: Eco-Structuring, Kinetics and Equilibrium Studies

“…On the one hand, agro-waste materials are available at almost no cost and could represent a burden on the environment if not properly recycled [22][23][24]. On the other hand, biochars obtained via pyrolysis of the lignocellulosic materials are greatly privileged with their high surface area, pore size and volume, existence of various functionalities, and liability for functionalization and regeneration, making them excellent candidates for scavenging of contaminants [25][26][27][28][29][30].…”