Safety evaluation and ibuprofen removal via an Alternanthera philoxeroides-based biochar

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2021-08, Vol.28 (30), p.40568-40586
• Main Authors: Du, Yuan-da, Zhang, Xin-qian, Shu, Li, Feng, Yu, Lv, Cui, Liu, Hong-qiang, Xu, Fei, Wang, Qian, Zhao, Cong-cong, Kong, Qiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Alternanthera philoxeroides; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Charcoal; Chemical and Biological Process Techniques and Tools for Pollution Prevention and Sustainability; Consumer products; Contaminants; Correlation coefficient; Correlation coefficients; Cytotoxicity; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Flow cytometry; Fourier analysis; Fourier transforms; Functional groups; Ibuprofen; Infrared analysis; Infrared spectroscopy; Invasive plants; Multilayers; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Phosphorus; Physical; Pore size; Safety; Scanning electron microscopy; Spectrum analysis; Surface chemistry; Toxicity; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09714-z

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are a representative class of emerging contaminants. This study aimed to investigate the PPCP removal performance and application safety of a biochar fabricated using the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides (APBC). According to scanning electron microscopy and pore size analyses, APBC exhibited a porous structure with a specific surface area of 857.5 m 2 /g. A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated the presence of surface functional groups, including phosphorus-containing groups, C=O, C=C, and –OH. The adsorption experiment showed that the maximum removal efficiency of ibuprofen was 97% at an initial concentration of 10 mg/L and APBC dosage of 0.8 g/L. The adsorption kinetics were fitted by the pseudo-second-order model with the highest correlation coefficient ( R 2  = 0.9999). The adsorption isotherms were well described by the Freundlich model ( R 2  = 0.9896), which indicates a dominant multilayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of APBC was 172 mg/g. A toxicity evaluation, based on Chlorella pyrenoidosa and human epidermal BEAS-2B cells, was carried out using a spectrum analysis, thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide assay, and flow cytometry. The results of the above showed the low cytotoxicity of APBC and demonstrated its low toxicity in potential environmental applications.