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Article

Valorizing Date Seeds into Biochar for Pesticide Removal: A Sustainable Approach to Agro-Waste-Based Wastewater Treatment

1
Department of Environmental Engineering and Occupational Safety and Health, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
2
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Nalut University, Nalut, Libya
3
Department of Graphic Engineering and Design, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
4
College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 5129; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115129
Submission received: 27 April 2025 / Revised: 24 May 2025 / Accepted: 30 May 2025 / Published: 3 June 2025

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of emerging pesticides in aquatic ecosystems poses significant risks to environmental and human health. This study explores the valorization of date seeds—an abundant agro-waste in arid and semi-arid regions—into functional biochar for the adsorption of emerging pesticides from contaminated wastewater. Biochar was synthesized via pyrolysis at 550 °C for 30 min under a nitrogen atmosphere and characterized using BET and FT-IR techniques. The prepared date seed biochar (DSBC) exhibited a high specific surface area of 307.45 m2/g and a well-developed microporous structure conducive to pollutant adsorption. The optimized DSBC achieved maximum adsorption capacities of 28.3 mg/g for carbendazim and 25.7 mg/g for linuron. The removal efficiency exceeded 90% for all pesticides at pH 6–8 and equilibrium was reached within 60 min. Regeneration tests demonstrated that DSBC retained its removal efficiency of 60.3% and 75.5% for carbendazim and linuron, respectively, after tenth cycles, highlighting its reusability and cost-effectiveness. Significant performance potential was demonstrated via the formed biochar regarding stability when exposed to real wastewater composition. Overall, date seed biochar presents a sustainable, low-cost, and efficient solution for mitigating pesticide pollution in wastewater treatment systems.
Keywords: emerging micropollutants; adsorption performance; economic evaluation; mitigation strategies; circular economy emerging micropollutants; adsorption performance; economic evaluation; mitigation strategies; circular economy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Mihajlović, I.; Hgeig, A.; Novaković, M.; Gvoić, V.; Ubavin, D.; Petrović, M.; Kurniawan, T.A. Valorizing Date Seeds into Biochar for Pesticide Removal: A Sustainable Approach to Agro-Waste-Based Wastewater Treatment. Sustainability 2025, 17, 5129. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115129

AMA Style

Mihajlović I, Hgeig A, Novaković M, Gvoić V, Ubavin D, Petrović M, Kurniawan TA. Valorizing Date Seeds into Biochar for Pesticide Removal: A Sustainable Approach to Agro-Waste-Based Wastewater Treatment. Sustainability. 2025; 17(11):5129. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115129

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mihajlović, Ivana, Ali Hgeig, Mladenka Novaković, Vesna Gvoić, Dejan Ubavin, Maja Petrović, and Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan. 2025. "Valorizing Date Seeds into Biochar for Pesticide Removal: A Sustainable Approach to Agro-Waste-Based Wastewater Treatment" Sustainability 17, no. 11: 5129. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115129

APA Style

Mihajlović, I., Hgeig, A., Novaković, M., Gvoić, V., Ubavin, D., Petrović, M., & Kurniawan, T. A. (2025). Valorizing Date Seeds into Biochar for Pesticide Removal: A Sustainable Approach to Agro-Waste-Based Wastewater Treatment. Sustainability, 17(11), 5129. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17115129

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