Application of biochar-based materials in environmental remediation: from multi-level structures to specific devices

Abstract

The development of biochar has triggered a hot-spot in various research fields including agriculture, energy, environment, and materials. Biochar-based materials provide a novel approach against environmental challenging issues. Considering the rapid development of biochar materials, this review serves as a valuable platform to summarize the recent progress on the theoretical investigation and engineering applications of biochar materials in environmental remediation. For a better understanding of the structure-application relationships, the structural properties of biochar from macroscopic and microscopic aspects are summarized. The multilevel structures including elements, phases, surface chemistry, and molecular are highlighted to elucidate the multi-functional properties of biochars. Sorption, catalysis, redox reaction, and biological activity of biochar are briefly illustrated, which influence the transport, transformation, and removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in the environments. According to the multi-level structures and structure-application relationships of biochar, specific biocharbased materials and devices have been designed for practical environmental application. The important progress on the functionalization and device of biochar-based materials, including magnetic biochars, 2D and 3D biochar-based macrostructures, immobilized microorganism on biochar, and biochar-amended biofilters are highlighted. The environmental friendliness and sustainability of biochar-based materials, considering the whole cycle from synthesis to application, are evaluated.

Special issue on sustainable waste treatment and management

“…The manuscript entitled "Characterization and adsorption capacity of modified 3D porous aerogel from grapefruit peels for removal of oils and organic solvents" (Imran et al 2020) synthesized a hydrophobic aerogel with three-dimensional (3D) structure from grapefruit peel by hydrothermal approach and used the porous aerogel as an adsorbent for removal of oils and organic solvents from polluted water. The findings of these studies benefit the agricultural waste recycling utilization and the contaminated water and soil remediation, as reported in many other studies (e.g., Bandara et al 2020;Lehmann 2019;Lu et al 2020;Wu et al 2020).…”

Review of organic and inorganic pollutants removal by biochar and biochar-based composites

“…However, applications of BC particles and BC-based composites inevitably release fine particles into the environment which may cause biological toxicity and damage human health (Lu et al 2020;Lian and XIng 2017;Zhang et al 2019b). For example, the addition of rice straw BC into contaminated soil reduced the bioavailability of Pb; meanwhile, DOC, PO 2− 4 Cl − , and SO 2− 4 were released.…”

Adsorption of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate onto rice husk biochar for nitrogen removal

“…Biochar has been received great attention recent years due to its novel structure and characteristics that let it become a promising candidate for bioremediation in both targets costefficient and sustainable (Lu et al, 2020). The findings in this paper that raw RHB can be used for nitrogen removal because its adsorption capacity towards ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate ranging from 0.10-0.24 mg/g that adequately satisfies for controlling water quality in RAS.…”