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Catalysts
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Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes
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Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomass Catalysis".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 13170

Special Issue Editor

Dr. John Vakros

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: preparation; characterization and testing of supported catalysts; environmental friendly processes; advanced oxidation processes; biochar applications; acid-base behavior of nanoparticles; potentiometric mass titrations; metal support interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the past few years biochar—a new carbonaceous material—has been used in many interesting applications, which makes it a valuable material. It can be used as fertilizer, as an additive for soil amendment, as an energy source (biofuel), and as an absorber, supercapacitor, catalyst, or catalytic support.

Biochar can be produced from the pyrolysis of waste biomass, under a no or limited oxygen atmosphere. The raw biomass that can be used for biochar production is almost unlimited. In some cases biochar can even be considered as a by-product in the production of biofuels from pyrolysis of biomass, resulting to a low-cost material.

Biochar exhibits significant physical and chemical properties including a high surface area, desirable porosity, good thermal and mechanical stability, electric conductivity, high amount of active surface groups, and an environmentally friendly nature. The above characteristics make biochar an excellent material for different applications in the field of catalysis. Indeed, biochar can be used as either a catalytic support or a catalyst in a variety of applications including electro-catalysis, the transesterification or esterification of lipids, in advanced oxidation processes as a persulfate activator, etc.

While biochar has been a topic of much research, there are still large knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. This Special Issue aims to cover recent progress and advances in the application of biochar in catalysis. This includes, but is not restricted to, the use of biochar as a catalyst in the oxidation of organic contaminants with persulfates as oxidant, as a catalyst in the (trans)esterification of lipids for biodiesel production, as a catalytic support for the preparation of supported catalysts, and for application in electrode construction for electro-catalytic processes. Finally, new catalytic applications of biochar in catalysis and comparison with other similar catalysts are strongly welcomed.

Dr. John Vakros
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. Catalysts is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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
  • Transesterification
  • Persulfate activator
  • Advanced oxidation processes
  • Biomass pyrolysis

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3635 KiB  
Article
On the Performance of a Sustainable Rice Husk Biochar for the Activation of Persulfate and the Degradation of Antibiotics
by Efstathios Avramiotis, Zacharias Frontistis, Ioannis D. Manariotis, John Vakros and Dionissios Mantzavinos
Catalysts 2021, 11(11), 1303; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11111303 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2806
Abstract
Sulfate-radical-based advanced oxidation processes are highly effective in the degradation of antibiotics in water and wastewater. The activation of sulfate radicals occurs with the use of biochar, a low-cost carbon material. In this work, the preparation of biochar from rice husk for the [...] Read more.
Sulfate-radical-based advanced oxidation processes are highly effective in the degradation of antibiotics in water and wastewater. The activation of sulfate radicals occurs with the use of biochar, a low-cost carbon material. In this work, the preparation of biochar from rice husk for the degradation of various antibiotics was studied, and the biochar was compared with another biochar prepared at a different pyrolysis temperature. The biochar was prepared at 700 °C under limited O2. It had a high specific surface area of 231 m2 g−1 with micropores, a point of zero charge equal to 7.4 and a high silica content. The effect of different operating conditions on the degradation of organic compounds was studied. Increases in biochar dosage and sodium persulfate concentration were found to be beneficial for the degradation. In contrast, an increase in antibiotic concentration, the complexity of the water matrix and the existence of radical scavengers all had a detrimental effect on the activity. The comparison of the results with those from a biochar prepared at a higher temperature (850 °C) revealed that the preparation conditions affect the performance. The biochar pyrolyzed at 700 °C exhibited different behavior from that prepared at 850 °C, demonstrating the importance of the preparation route. The studied reaction was surface-sensitive and followed radical and non-radical pathways. The adsorption of the organic contaminant also played a significant role. The carbon phase characteristics determined the dominant pathway, which was radical formation, in contrast with the biochar prepared at higher temperature, where the degradation followed mainly non-radical pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes)
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15 pages, 2507 KiB  
Article
Conversion of Scenedesmus rubescens Lipid into Biodiesel by Biochar of Different Origin
by Vasiliki D. Tsavatopoulou, Andriana F. Aravantinou, John Vakros and Ioannis D. Manariotis
Catalysts 2021, 11(9), 1116; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11091116 - 16 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1852
Abstract
One of the most recent applications studied in recent years is the use of biochar as a catalyst for the conversion of oils into biodiesel. The scope of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of biochars as heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion [...] Read more.
One of the most recent applications studied in recent years is the use of biochar as a catalyst for the conversion of oils into biodiesel. The scope of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of biochars as heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of Scenedesmus rubescens lipids into biodiesel. Biochar from different materials were employed, namely, malt spent rootlets (MSR), coffee spent grounds (CSG), and olive kernels (OK). Materials were charred at two temperatures (400 and 850 °C) in order to examine the effect of pyrolysis temperature. Homogeneous catalysts such as sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide were also employed for comparison purposes. In order to explain the different performance of biochar as catalyst, we conducted detailed characterization of these materials. The results of this study showed that homogeneous catalysts (H2SO4 and NaOH) had similar results to the CSG biochar at 400 °C, which was the most productive tested biochar. The pyrolysis temperatures affected the FAMEs recovery of OK and CSG biochar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes)
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19 pages, 3869 KiB  
Article
Oxidation of Sulfamethoxazole by Rice Husk Biochar-Activated Persulfate
by Efstathios Avramiotis, Zacharias Frontistis, Ioannis D. Manariotis, John Vakros and Dionissios Mantzavinos
Catalysts 2021, 11(7), 850; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11070850 - 15 Jul 2021
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 3855
Abstract
In the present study, biochars from rice husk were synthesized via pyrolysis at 400, 550, 700 and 850 °C for 1 h under a limited O2 atmosphere, characterized with a various techniques of and used as catalysts to activate persulfate and to [...] Read more.
In the present study, biochars from rice husk were synthesized via pyrolysis at 400, 550, 700 and 850 °C for 1 h under a limited O2 atmosphere, characterized with a various techniques of and used as catalysts to activate persulfate and to degrade sulfamethoxazole (SMX). After physicochemical characterization of biochars. SMX degradation tests were performed using different water matrices, persulfate biochar and SMX concentrations and different initial pH solutions. Also, spiked solutions with bicarbonate, chloride, calcium nitrate, humic acid or alcohols were tested. It was found that catalytic reactivity rises with the pyrolysis temperature. Biochar is crucial for the oxidation of SMX and it can be described with a pseudo first–order kinetic model. Real matrices hinder the oxidation process, in waste water the SMX removal is 41% in 90 min, comparable with the inhibition obtained with spiked with bicarbonates solution (52% removal within 90 min) while complete removal can be achieved in ultrapure water matrices. The presence of alcohol slightly inhibits degradation contrary to the addition of sodium azide which causes significant inhibition, this is an evidence that degradation either under electron transfer/singlet oxygen control or dominated by surface-bound radicals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes)
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Review

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28 pages, 2642 KiB  
Review
Recent Development in Sludge Biochar-Based Catalysts for Advanced Oxidation Processes of Wastewater
by Xingxing Chen, Liya Fu, Yin Yu, Changyong Wu, Min Li, Xiaoguang Jin, Jin Yang, Panxin Wang and Ying Chen
Catalysts 2021, 11(11), 1275; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/catal11111275 - 22 Oct 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3522
Abstract
Sewage sludge as waste of the wastewater treatment process contains toxic substances, and its conversion into sludge biochar-based catalysts is a promising strategy that merges the merits of waste reutilization and environmental cleanup. This study aims to systematically recapitulate the published articles on [...] Read more.
Sewage sludge as waste of the wastewater treatment process contains toxic substances, and its conversion into sludge biochar-based catalysts is a promising strategy that merges the merits of waste reutilization and environmental cleanup. This study aims to systematically recapitulate the published articles on the development of sludge biochar-based catalysts in different advanced oxidation processes of wastewater, including sulfate-based system, Fenton-like systems, photocatalysis, and ozonation systems. Due to abundant functional groups, metal phases and unique structures, sludge biochar-based catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic behavior for decontamination in advanced oxidation systems. In particular, the combination of sludge and pollutant dopants manifests a synergistic effect. The catalytic mechanisms of as-prepared catalysts in these systems are also investigated. Furthermore, initial solution pH, catalyst dosage, reaction temperature, and coexisting anions have a vital role in advanced oxidation processes, and these parameters are systematically summarized. In summary, this study could provide relatively comprehensive and up-to-date messages for the application of sludge biochar-based catalysts in the advanced oxidation processes of wastewater treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Application of Biochar in Catalytic Processes)
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