Sorption of bisphenol A, 17α-ethinyl estradiol and phenanthrene on thermally and hydrothermally produced biochars

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2011-05, Vol.102 (10), p.5757-5763
• Main Authors: Sun, Ke, Ro, Kyoung, Guo, Mingxin, Novak, Jeff, Mashayekhi, Hamid, Xing, Baoshan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Benzhydryl Compounds; Biochar; Biological and medical sciences; Bisphenol A; Contaminants; Diffraction; Endocrine disrupting chemicals; Ethinyl Estradiol - chemistry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hydrothermal; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Phenanthrene; Phenanthrenes - chemistry; Phenols - chemistry; Poultry; Pyrolysis; Sorption; Thermodynamics; Wastes; X-rays
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.03.038

► A new way (hydrothermal) to produce biochar from organic waste/biomass was unitized. ► Hydrothermal biochars had more diverse structures than the thermal ones. ► Hydrothermal biochar had higher or similar sorption of organic contaminants than thermal ones. ► Hydrothermally produced biochars would be preferred in soil application. ► Less energy is needed to carbonize wet feedstock using hydrothermal method. Thermal and hydrothermal biochars were characterized, and adsorption of bisphenol A (BPA), 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) and phenanthrene (Phen) was determined to investigate the sorption characteristic difference between the two types of biochars. Thermal biochars were composed mostly of aromatic moieties, with low H/C and O/C ratios as compared to hydrothermal ones having diverse functional groups. Single-point organic carbon-normalized distribution coefficients (log K OC) of EE2 and BPA of hydrothermal biochars were higher than thermal biochars, while Phen log K OC values were comparable among them. X-ray diffraction and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance results suggested that hydrothermal biochars consisted of more amorphous aliphatic-C, possibly being responsible for their high sorption capacity of Phen. This study demonstrated that hydrothermal biochars could adsorb a wider spectrum of both polar and nonpolar organic contaminants than thermally produced biochars, suggesting that hydrothermal biochar derived from poultry and animal waste is a potential sorbent for agricultural and environmental applications.