Biochar for wastewater treatment

  • Biochar as a stable carbon-rich material shows incredible potential to handle water/wastewater contaminants. Its application is gaining increasing interest due to the availability of feedstock, the simplicity of the preparation methods, and their enhanced physico-chemical properties. The efficacy of biochar to remove organic and inorganic pollutants depends on its surface area, pore size distribution, surface functional groups, and the size of the molecules to be removed, while the physical architecture and surface properties of biochar depend on the nature of feedstock and the preparation method/conditions. For instance, pyrolysis at high temperatures generally produces hydrophobic biochars with higher surface area and micropore volume, allowing it to be more suitable for organic contaminants sorption, whereas biochars produced at low temperatures own smaller pore size, lower surface area, and higher oxygen-containing functional groups and are more suitable to remove inorganic contaminants. In the field of water/wastewater treatment, biochar can have extensive application prospects. Biochar have been widely used as an additive/support media during anaerobic digestion and as filter media for the removal of suspended matter, heavy metals and pathogens. Biochar was also tested for its efficiency as a support-based catalyst for the degradation of dyes and recalcitrant contaminants. The current review discusses on the different methods for biochar production and provides an overview of current applications of biochar in wastewater treatment.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Ghizlane EnaimeORCiDGND, Abdelaziz BaçaouiGND, Abdelrani YaacoubiGND, Manfred LübkenORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-74451
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103492
Parent Title (English):Applied Sciences
Subtitle (English):conversion technologies and applications
Publisher:MDPI
Place of publication:Basel
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2020/08/13
Date of first Publication:2020/05/18
Publishing Institution:Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek
Tag:adsorption; biochar; modification; thermal conversion; wastewater treatment
Volume:10
Issue:10, Article 3492
First Page:3492-1
Last Page:3492-29
Institutes/Facilities:Lehrstuhl für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft und Umwelttechnik
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International