As a multifunctional material, biochar is considered a potential adsorbent for removing heavy metals from wastewater. Most biochars with high adsorption capacities have been modified, but this modification is uneconomical, and modifying biochar may cause secondary pollution. Thus, it is necessary to develop an efficient biochar without modification. In this study, spent P. ostreatus substrate and spent shiitake substrate were used as the raw materials to prepare biochar. Then, the physicochemical properties of the biochars and their removal efficiencies for Pb(II) were investigated. The results showed that the physicochemical properties (e.g., large BET surface area, small pore structure and abundant functional groups) contributed to the large adsorption capacity for Pb(II); the maximum adsorption capacities were 326 mg g−1 (spent P. ostreatus substrate-derived biochar) and 398 mg g−1 (spent shiitake substrate-derived biochar), which are 1.6–10 times larger than those of other modified biochars. The Pb(II) adsorption data could be well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir model. This study provides a new method to comprehensively utilize spent mushroom substrates for the sustainable development of the edible mushroom industry.

As an environment-friendly material, biochar has been used to remove heavy metals from wastewater, and the development of cost-effective biochar has been an emerging trend. However, limited studies consider the competitive adsorption of co-existing metals and the separation efficiency of absorbent and solution after adsorption. In this study, pomelo peel was used to prepare biochar (BC) and magnetic biochar (MBC) at different temperatures. Then, the physicochemical properties of the biochars were characterized and the adsorption characteristics of Cu2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ on the biochars in single, binary, and ternary metal systems were investigated. The results showed that both pyrolysis temperature and magnetization could affect the adsorption capacity of biochar. The adsorption kinetic and thermodynamic processes could be well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model. The adsorption isotherm types of Pb2+ and Zn2+ changed in the binary metal condition. The competitive adsorption order of three heavy metal ions in ternary metal adsorption was Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+. The MBC of 500 °C showed a good adsorption capacity to Pb2+ in the co-existing environment, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 48.74 mmol g−1. This study also provided technical support for the utilization of pomelo peel and the engineering application of biochar.