Nitrogen-doped biochar (N-doped BC) and iron/nitrogen co-doped biochar (Fe/N co-doped BC) for removal of refractory organic pollutants

Shakeel Ahmad; Linan Liu; Shicheng Zhang; Jingchun Tang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130727

Nitrogen-doped biochar (N-doped BC) and iron/nitrogen co-doped biochar (Fe/N co-doped BC) for removal of refractory organic pollutants

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Mar 15:446:130727. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130727. Epub 2023 Jan 4.

Authors

Shakeel Ahmad¹, Linan Liu¹, Shicheng Zhang², Jingchun Tang³

Affiliations

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China.
² Shanghai Technical Service Platform for Pollution Control and Resource Utilization of Organic Wastes, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
³ MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria/Tianjin Engineering Center of Environmental Diagnosis and Contamination Remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China. Electronic address: tangjch@nankai.edu.cn.

PMID: 36630878
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130727

Abstract

The presence of refractory organic pollutants (ROPs) in the ecosystem is a serious concern because of their impact on environmental constituents as well as their known or suspected ecotoxicity and adverse health effects. According to previous studies, carbonaceous materials, such as biochar (BC), have been widely used to remove pollutants from ecosystems owing to their desirable features, such as relative stability, tunable porosity, and abundant functionalities. Nitrogen (N)-doping and iron/nitrogen (Fe/N) co-doping can tailor BC properties and provide supplementary functional groups as well as extensive active sites on the N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BC surface, which is advantageous for interaction with and removal of ROPs. This review investigates the impact of N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BC on the removal of ROPs through adsorption, activation oxidation, and catalytic reduction due to the synergistic Fe, N, and BC features that modify the physicochemical properties, surface functional groups, and persistent free radicals of BC to aid in the degradation of ROPs. Owing to the attractive properties of N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BCs for the removal of ROPs, this review focuses and evaluates previous experimental investigations on the manufacturing (including precursors and influencing parameters during manufacturing) and characterizations of N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BCs. Additionally, the effective applications and mechanisms of N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BCs in adsorption, activation oxidation, and reductive remediation of ROPs are investigated herein. Moreover, the application of N-doped and Fe/N co-doped BC for progressive environmental remediation based on their effectiveness against co-pollutants, regeneration, stability, affordability, and future research prospects are discussed.

Keywords: Activation oxidation; Adsorption; Fe/N co-doped biochar; N-doped biochar; Refractory organic pollutants.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Charcoal / chemistry
Ecosystem
Environmental Pollutants*
Iron / chemistry
Nitrogen
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / chemistry

Substances

Iron
biochar
Environmental Pollutants
Nitrogen
Charcoal
Water Pollutants, Chemical