Effect of oil palm biomass cellulosic content on nanopore structure and adsorption capacity of biochar

Abubakar Abdullahi Lawal; Mohd Ali Hassan; Mohd Rafein Zakaria; Mohd Zulkhairi Mohd Yusoff; Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim; Mohd Noriznan Mokhtar; Yoshihito Shirai

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125070

Effect of oil palm biomass cellulosic content on nanopore structure and adsorption capacity of biochar

Bioresour Technol. 2021 Jul:332:125070. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125070. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Authors

Abubakar Abdullahi Lawal¹, Mohd Ali Hassan², Mohd Rafein Zakaria³, Mohd Zulkhairi Mohd Yusoff⁴, Mohd Nor Faiz Norrrahim⁵, Mohd Noriznan Mokhtar⁶, Yoshihito Shirai⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Process and Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Agricultural and Environmental Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
² Department of Process and Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: alihas@upm.edu.my.
³ Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Laboratory of Processing and Product Development, Institute of Plantation Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Laboratory of Biopolymer and Derivatives, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵ Research Center for Chemical Defence, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Kem Sungai Besi, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁶ Department of Process and Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁷ Department of Biological Functions and Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 808-0196, Japan.

PMID: 33878542
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125070

Abstract

The influence of biomass cellulosic content on biochar nanopore structure and adsorption capacity in aqueous phase was scarcely reported. Commercial cellulose (100% cellulose), oil palm frond (39.5% cellulose), and palm kernel shell (20.5% cellulose) were pyrolyzed AT 630 °C, characterized and tested for the adsorption of iodine and organic contaminants. The external surface area and average pore size increased with cellulosic content, where commercial cellulose formed biochar with external surface area of 95.4 m²/g and average pore size of 4.1 nm. The biochar from commercial cellulose had the largest adsorption capacities: 371.40 mg/g for iodine, 86.7 mg/L for tannic acid, 17.89 mg/g for COD and 60.35 mg/g for colour, while biochar from palm kernel shell had the least adsorption capacities. The cellulosic content reflected the differences in biochar nanopore structure and adsorption capacities, signifying the suitability of highly cellulosic biomass for producing biochar to effectively treat wastewater.

Keywords: Adsorption capacity; Biochar; Cellulosic content; Pyrogenic nanopores.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Biomass
Charcoal
Nanopores*

Substances

biochar
Charcoal