Agrowaste-generated biochar for the sustainable remediation of refractory pollutants

Sougata Ghosh; Maitri Nandasana; Thomas J Webster; Sirikanjana Thongmee

doi:10.3389/fchem.2023.1266556

Agrowaste-generated biochar for the sustainable remediation of refractory pollutants

Front Chem. 2023 Nov 16:11:1266556. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1266556. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Sougata Ghosh^{1

2}, Maitri Nandasana², Thomas J Webster^{3

4

5}, Sirikanjana Thongmee¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
² Department of Microbiology, School of Science, RK University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India.
³ School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China.
⁴ School of Engineering, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
⁵ Materials Program, Federal University of Piaui, Teresina, Brazil.

Abstract

The rapid growth of various industries has led to a significant, alarming increase in recalcitrant pollutants in the environment. Hazardous dyes, heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and other associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as acenaphthene, fluorene, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, and pyrene) have posed a significant threat to the surroundings due to their refractory nature. Although activated carbon has been reported to be an adsorbent for removing contaminants from wastewater, it has its limitations. Hence, this review provides an elaborate account of converting agricultural waste into biochar with nanotextured surfaces that can serve as low-cost adsorbents with promising pollutant-removing properties. A detailed mechanism rationalized that this strategy involves the conversion of agrowaste to promising adsorbents that can be reduced, reused, and recycled. The potential of biowaste-derived biochar can be exploited for developing biofuel for renewable energy and also for improving soil fertility. This strategy can provide a solution to control greenhouse gas emissions by preventing the open burning of agricultural residues in fields. Furthermore, this serves a dual purpose for environmental remediation as well as effective management of agricultural waste rich in both organic and inorganic components that are generated during various agricultural operations. In this manner, this review provides recent advances in the use of agrowaste-generated biochar for cleaning the environment.

Keywords: agricultural waste; biochar; dyes; heavy metals; pesticides; pharmaceutical products; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. SG acknowledges the Program Management Unit for Human Resources and Institutional Development and Innovation (PMU-B) for funding the proposal entitled “Developing High-Performance workforce in Postdoc and Postmaster under Research Topic “Study and Development of Porous Nanofibers, Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot Nanofiber Composite, and Metal Doped Graphene Oxide Quantum Dot Nanofiber Composite for Carbon Dioxide Reduction and Capture” under the Program of the National Postdoctoral and Postgraduate System approved by PMU-B Board Committees (Contract No. B13F660065). SG also acknowledges Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand, for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship and funding under the Reinventing University Program (Ref. No. 6501.0207/9219 dated 14 September 2022). ST acknowledges funding support from the NSRF via the Program Management Unit for Human Resources and Institutional Development, Research, and Innovation (Grant number B05F640203) and the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and Kasetsart University, Thailand, for funding (N42A650277).