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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging contaminants (ECs), a group of relatively low-concentration but high-toxicity pollutants in the environment, have attracted widespread attention in recent years. These trace pollutants can stay in the environment for a long time. They can be enriched in organisms and finally transferred to human bodies through the food chain, posing a potential hazard to public health and the ecological environment. As a novel adsorbent, biochar has been widely used in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in the environment. Currently, there are many studies on the removal of ECs from water by biochar. These studies explore different preparation and modification methods to functionalize biochar with various physicochemical properties, resulting in distinct adsorption effects, behaviors, and mechanisms of biochar on different ECs. However, a more detailed understanding of the toxicity of these pollutants, the removal of resistance genes, and the adsorption mechanism has not yet been obtained. Therefore, the adsorption behavior and mechanism of biochar to ECs need to be extensively studied.

This Special Issue aims to establish a collection of papers on environmental applications of biochar on ECs. It explores approaches for biochar preparation and modification, the migration and transformation of ECs, and the adsorption behavior and mechanism of biochar for ECs. Original research papers or review papers on the latest research progress in biochar are equally welcome.

Prof. Bing Wang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

emerging contaminants
environmental applications
biochar modification
regeneration
adsorption
wastewater treatment
antibiotics
resistance genes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 4051 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Biochar Materials Derived from Coconut Husks and Various Types of Livestock Manure, and Their Potential for Use in Removal of H₂S from Biogas

by Lianghu Su, Mei Chen, Guihua Zhuo, Rongting Ji, Saier Wang, Longjiang Zhang, Mingzhu Zhang and Haidong Li

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6262; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116262 - 01 Jun 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3130

Abstract

As a potential adsorbent material, loose, porous livestock manure biochar provides a new approach to livestock manure resource utilization. In this study, coconut husks (CH) and livestock manure, i.e., cow dung (CD), pig manure (PM), and chicken manure (CM) were used as biomass precursors for preparation of biochar via high-temperature pyrolysis and CO₂ activation. Characterization technologies, such as scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, adsorption–desorption isotherms, and pore size distributions, were used to study the microscopic morphologies and physicochemical properties of unactivated and activated biochar materials. The results showed that CD biochar provides better adsorption performance (up to 29.81 mg H₂S/g) than CM or PM biochar. After activation at 650° for 1 h, the best adsorption performance was 38.23 mg H₂S/g. For comparison, the CH biochar removal performance was 30.44 mg H₂S/g. Its best performance was 38.73 mg H₂S/g after 1 h of activation at 750 °C. Its best removal performance is equivalent to that of CH biochar activated at a temperature that is 100 °C higher. Further material characterization indicates that the H₂S removal performance of livestock-manure–derived biochar is not entirely dependent on the specific surface area, but is closely related to the pore size distribution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Applications of Biochar on Emerging Contaminants)

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Review

Jump to: Research

22 pages, 2712 KiB

Open AccessReview

Sustainable Approach and Safe Use of Biochar and Its Possible Consequences

by Hanuman Singh Jatav, Vishnu D. Rajput, Tatiana Minkina, Satish Kumar Singh, Sukirtee Chejara, Andrey Gorovtsov, Anatoly Barakhov, Tatiana Bauer, Svetlana Sushkova, Saglara Mandzhieva, Marina Burachevskaya and Valery P. Kalinitchenko

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10362; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810362 - 16 Sep 2021

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 6711

Abstract

Biochar is considered as a potential substitute for soil organic matter (SOM). Considering the importance of biochar, the present review is based on the different benefits and potential risks of the application of biochar to the soil. Biochar addition to low organic carbon soils can act as a feasible solution to keep soil biologically active for the cycling of different nutrients. The application of biochar could improve soil fertility, increase crop yield, enhance plant growth and microbial abundance, and immobilize different contaminants in the soil. It could also be helpful in carbon sequestration and the return of carbon stock back to the soil in partially combusted form. Due to the large surface area of biochar, which generally depends upon the types of feedstock and pyrolysis conditions, it helps to reduce the leaching of fertilizers from the soil and supplies additional nutrients to growing crops. However, biochar may have some adverse effects due to emissions during the pyrolysis process, but it exerts a positive priming effect (a phenomenon in which subjection to one stimulus positively influences subsequent stimulus) on SOM decomposition, depletion of nutrients (macro- and micro-) via strong adsorption, and impact on soil physicochemical properties. In view of the above importance and limitations, all possible issues related to biochar application should be considered. The review presents extensive detailed information on the sustainable approach for the environmental use of biochar and its limitations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Applications of Biochar on Emerging Contaminants)

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