Submit to Applied Sciences Review for Applied Sciences Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Sciences and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 17695

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Manfred Lübken

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Urban Water Management and Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Interests: wastewater filtration; water reuse; mathematical modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biochar is a carbon-rich product produced by the thermal decomposition of organic material. Since carbonization during the decomposition process is incomplete, biochar contains both carbonized and non-carbonized phases. The organic materials used as feedstock and the selected pyrolysis conditions affect the physical and chemical properties, such as surface area, polarity, and elemental composition, of the resulting biochar. Due to the high degree of porosity, a large surface area, and a large number of functional surface groups, there are various possible environmental applications for biochar. For example, biochar can contribute to soil improvement in agriculture. In livestock farming, biochar can be used as a feed additive, as well as for manure treatment to reduce nuisance odors. Due to its low thermal conductivity and water absorption capacity, biochar has suitable characteristics for use in building construction as an insulating material and moisture control agent. Biochar can also be used to decontaminate polluted soils and water resources.

This Special Issue discusses different methods for biochar production and provides an overview of current and future applications of biochar in environmental systems.

Dr. Manfred Lübken
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

biochar
adsorption
pyrolysis
thermal conversion

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

10 pages, 1759 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Effects of Biochar Production Methods and Biomass Types on Lead Removal from Aqueous Solution

by Paola Granados, Sergio Mireles, Engil Pereira, Chu-Lin Cheng and James Jihoon Kang

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 5040; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12105040 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2563

Abstract

Biochar has proven its potential in removing heavy metal ions from water. The objective of this study was to evaluate locally obtained biomass feedstocks for biochar production and their efficiency as a sorbent for aqueous lead (Pb²⁺) removal. The biomass feedstocks consisted of avocado seed, avocado peel, grapefruit peel, and brown seaweed, which represent agricultural and marine biomasses. The biochar materials were produced in two different methods: (1) a laboratory tube furnace at 300 °C and (2) a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) biochar maker, “BioCharlie Log”. The biochars were characterized for selected physicochemical properties, and batch adsorption tests with 10 mg Pb²⁺ L⁻¹ were conducted. All biochars exhibited >90% Pb²⁺ removal with the avocado seed and grapefruit peel biochars being the most effective (99%) from the tube-furnace-produced biochars. BioCharlie-produced-biochars showed similar Pb²⁺ removal (90–97%) with brown seaweed and avocado seed biochars being the most effective (97%). Land-based biochars showed a higher carbon content (>53%) than the brown seaweed biochar (28%), which showed the highest ash content (68%). Our results suggested that oxygen-containing surface functional groups in land-based biochar and mineral (ash) fraction in marine-based biochar play a key role in Pb²⁺ removal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 9014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Investigation of Possible Biochar Use as Carbon Source in Polyacrylonitrile Electrospun Fiber Production

by Aaron Schirra, Annas Bin Ali, Franz Renz, Ralf Sindelar, Simone Pedrazzi and Giulio Allesina

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4441; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12094441 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1541

Abstract

Electrospinning with consequent thermal treatment consists in a carbon fiber production method that spins a polymer solution to create fibers with diameters around a few hundred nanometers. The thermal treatments are used for the cyclization and then carbonization of the material at 1700 °C for one hour. The unique structure of micro- and nano-carbon fibers makes them a promising material for various applications ranging from future battery designs to filtration. This work investigated the possibility of using milled gasification biochar, derived from a 20 kW fixed-bed gasifier fueled with vine pruning pellets, as an addictive in the preparation of electrospinning solutions. This study outlined that solvent cleaning and the consequent wet-milling and 32 µm sifting are fundamental passages for biochar preparation. Four different polyacrylonitrile-biochar shares were tested ranging from pure polymer to 50–50% solutions. The resulting fibers were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray and infrared spectroscopy. Results from the morphological analysis showed that biochar grains dispersed themselves well among the fiber mat in all the proposed shares. All the tested solutions, once carbonized, exceeded 97%wt. of carbon content. At higher carbonization temperatures, the inorganic compounds naturally showing in biochar such as potassium and calcium disappeared, resulting in an almost carbon-pure fiber matrix with biochar grains in between. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2395 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Pyrolysis Temperature on Copper Aqueous Removal Capability of Biochar Derived from the Kelp Macrocystis pyrifera

by Matías Araya, Jorge Rivas, Graciela Sepúlveda, Camila Espinoza-González, Sebastián Lira, Andrés Meynard, Elodie Blanco, Nestor Escalona, Rosanna Ginocchio, Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez and Loretto Contreras-Porcia

Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 9223; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11199223 - 03 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2243

Abstract

Seaweed biochar is an efficient alternative bioadsorbent for Cu²⁺ removal due to its low cost and heavy metal removal capacity. Using the slow pyrolysis process, we produced biochars from Macrocystis pyrifera at 300 (BC300), 450 (BC450), and 600 °C (BC600). The physicochemical and structural properties of the biochar samples improved with increasing pyrolysis temperature from 300 to 450 °C, whereas no significant differences were observed with further increases in temperature to 600 °C. The yield ranged between 49% and 62% and had a high ash content (57.5–71.1%). BC450 and BC600 presented the highest surface areas and higher porosities. The FTIR spectra indicated that an increase of temperature decreased the acidic functional groups due to depolymerization and the dehydration processes, increasing the aromatic structures and the presence of calcium carbonate. The fittings of the kinetic models were different for the BCs: for the BC450 and BC600 samples, the Cu²⁺ adsorption was well-represented by a pseudo-first-order model; for BC300, a better fit was obtained with the pseudo-second-order model. The rate-limiting step of Cu²⁺ adsorption on BCs was represented by both models, liquid film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion, with surface diffusion being more important in BC300 and BC600, and intraparticle diffusion in BC450, in agreement with the pore size of the biochar samples. The adsorption isotherms of all BCs showed Langmuir behavior, representative of a chemisorption process, which was corroborated by the energy adsorption values determined by the D–R model. The maximum monolayer Cu²⁺ adsorption capacities were 93.55 and 58.0 mg g⁻¹ for BC600 and BC450, respectively, whereas BC450 presented the highest affinity. Other mechanisms involved in controlling heavy metal removal from aqueous suspensions using these seaweed biochars remain to be explored. We conclude that BC450 and BC600 from M. pyrifera are the most efficient adsorbents for Cu²⁺ aqueous removal and are thus an appropriate alternative for bioremediation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 2174 KiB

Open AccessReview

Can Biochar Improve the Sustainability of Animal Production?

by Carly Graves, Praveen Kolar, Sanjay Shah, Jesse Grimes and Mahmoud Sharara

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 5042; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12105042 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3133

Abstract

Animal production is a significant contributor of organic and inorganic contaminants in air, soil, and water systems. These pollutants are present beginning in animal houses and impacts continue through manure storage, treatment, and land application. As the industry is expected to expand, there is still a lack of affordable, sustainable solutions to many environmental concerns in animal production. Biochar is a low-cost, sustainable biomaterial with many environmental remediation applications. Its physicochemical properties have been proven to provide environmental benefits via the adsorption of organic and inorganic contaminants, promote plant growth, improve soil quality, and provide a form of carbon sequestration. For these reasons, biochar has been researched regarding biochar production, and application methods to biological systems have a significant influence on the moisture content, pH, microbial communities, and carbon and nitrogen retention. There remain unanswered questions about how we can manipulate biochar via physical and chemical activation methods to enhance the performance for specific applications. This review article addresses the positive and negative impacts of biochar addition at various stages in animal production from feed intake to manure land application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2755 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Characteristics and Applications of Biochar in Soil–Plant Systems: A Short Review of Benefits and Potential Drawbacks

by Tamás Kocsis, Marianna Ringer and Borbála Biró

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(8), 4051; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12084051 - 16 Apr 2022

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 7058

Abstract

The available literary data suggest the general applicability and benefits of different biochar products in various soil–plant–environment systems. Due to its high porosity, biochar might generally improve the physicochemical and biological properties of supplemented soils. Among the direct and indirect effects are (i) improved water-retention capacity, (ii) enhanced soil organic matter content, (iii) pH increase, (iv) better N and P availability, and (v) greater potential uptake of meso- and micronutrients. These are connected to the advantage of an enhanced soil oxygen content. The large porous surface area of biochar might indirectly protect the survival of microorganisms, while the adsorbed organic materials may improve the growth of both bacteria and fungi. On the other hand, N₂-fixing Rhizobium bacteria and P-mobilizing mycorrhiza fungi might respond negatively to biochar’s application. In arid circumstances with limited water and nutrient availability, a synergistic positive effect was found in biochar–microbial combined applications. Biochar seems to be a valuable soil supplement if its application is connected with optimized soil–plant–environment conditions. This work aims to give a general review of the potential benefits and drawbacks of biochar application to soil, highlighting its impacts on the soil–plant–microbe system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biochar: Preparation and Surface Adsorption Applications)

► Show Figures