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Investigation on the Impact of Varying Pyrolysis Temperature and Duration on the Effectiveness of Biochar in Removing Microplastics Using a Continuous-Flow Column-Based Process
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Researchers tested charcoal-like material (biochar) made from agricultural waste, such as palm kernel shells, to filter microplastics from lab-made wastewater flowing through a column. Biochar produced at 600°C for 4 hours removed about 99% of microplastic particles, mainly by physically filtering them rather than through chemical attraction.
Plastic utilization across diverse applications exacerbates the issue of microplastics (MP) pollution, raising significant concerns due to associated potential hazards. In this study, MP in synthetic wastewater were removed through a continuous-flow column-based process using biochar derived from agricultural waste as filtration/adsorption media. The biochar was synthesized using varying pyrolysis temperatures and duration to determine their effects on biochar properties and its capability in removing MP particles. Biochar samples prepared were characterized by the production yield and hydrophobicity based on water droplets contact angle measurement. Results obtained show that the hydrophobicity of biochar samples increased with higher pyrolysis temperature and prolonged pyrolysis duration but did not emerge as pivotal in MP removal performance within the tested conditions possibly because MP removal was also affected by other compounding factors, for example, surface area and pore properties, concomitantly enhanced by the pyrolysis temperature and duration. Under tested conditions, adsorption may play a role at the beginning of the process but once the adsorbate cake layer formed on the biochar surface, MP particles were mainly removed via filtration. The highest removal efficiency, approximately 99%, is achieved with biochar derived from palm kernel shell pyrolyzed at 600°C for 4 h.
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