Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Synthesis of invasive plant biochar catalyst with carbon nitride structure for peroxymonosulfate activation toward efficient ciprofloxacin degradation

Researchers created a new material from an invasive plant that, when combined with cobalt, could break down the common antibiotic ciprofloxacin in water within just 10 minutes with 98% efficiency across four reuse cycles. This "treat waste with waste" approach offers a promising low-cost tool for removing pharmaceutical pollutants from water supplies.

2024 Biochar 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of Antibiotics by Biochars: A Critical Review

This review analyzes how biochars, which are carbon-rich materials made from organic waste, can remove antibiotics from water. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because both antibiotics and microplastics are emerging water contaminants, and microplastics can carry antibiotic residues that promote drug-resistant bacteria. Better water treatment methods that address multiple contaminants could help reduce human exposure to both pollutants.

2023 Applied Sciences 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of aged biochar after microbial fermentation on antibiotics removal: Key roles of microplastics and environmentally persistent free radicals

Researchers prepared biochar from sludge containing varying amounts of polystyrene and tested its ability to remove antibiotics after microbial aging. The study found that while aging reduced biochar's surface area and removal efficiency by 6-14%, increasing the polystyrene content actually improved antibiotic removal due to the positive effects of environmentally persistent free radicals.

2023 Bioresource Technology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Performance and Mechanism of Sulfathiazole Adsorption by Magnetic Biochar: Promoting Effect of Co-existing Polystyrene and Simultaneous Removal

Researchers synthesized a magnetic biochar and tested its ability to remove the antibiotic sulfathiazole from water containing polystyrene microplastics, finding that the biochar achieved efficient removal of both contaminants simultaneously, with the microplastics actually promoting antibiotic adsorption.

2025
Article Tier 2

Efficient Removal of Tetracycline from Water by One-Step Pyrolytic Porous Biochar Derived from Antibiotic Fermentation Residue

Researchers developed a one-step pyrolytic porous biochar material for efficient tetracycline removal from water, achieving high adsorption capacity and demonstrating the potential of waste-derived biochar as a low-cost water treatment adsorbent.

2024 Nanomaterials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in biochar technology for aquatic pollution control: a critical review of applications, barriers, and future opportunities

Researchers reviewed two decades of research on biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — as a low-cost tool for removing pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, microplastics, and nutrients from water, achieving up to 80% pollutant removal. While promising, challenges in regeneration and scaling up production remain barriers to widespread use.

2025 Discover Sustainability 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Adsorption of Pyraclostrobin in Water by Bamboo-Derived and Pecan Shell-Derived Biochars

This paper is not about microplastics — it studies how biochar derived from bamboo and pecan shells can adsorb the fungicide pyraclostrobin from water, addressing agricultural chemical pollution rather than microplastics.

2023 Sustainability 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging contaminants in polluted waters: Harnessing Biochar's potential for effective treatment

This review explores how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be used to remove a wide range of pollutants from contaminated water, including microplastics, heavy metals, antibiotics, and PFAS. Biochar works through multiple mechanisms like adsorption, electrostatic interactions, and chemical bonding, and can be enhanced through surface modifications. The study highlights biochar as a low-cost, adaptable tool for addressing emerging water contaminants.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient removal of microplastics from aqueous solution by a novel magnetic biochar: performance, mechanism, and reusability

Researchers developed a magnetic biochar from rice husks that achieved 99.96% removal of microplastics from water, with the material showing excellent reusability and performance under various environmental conditions.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of sulfamethoxazole using Fe-Mn biochar filtration columns: Influence of co-existing polystyrene microplastics

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics affect the removal of the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole using iron-manganese modified biochar filtration columns. They found that the presence of microplastics significantly reduced antibiotic retention due to competitive sorption, with the effect varying depending on water pH. The study highlights that co-occurring microplastics in wastewater can interfere with contaminant removal systems, potentially allowing more antibiotics to pass through treatment processes.

2024 Journal of Cleaner Production 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Remediation of emerging pollutants using biochar derived from aquatic biomass for sustainable waste and pollution management: a review

This review evaluates the use of biochar made from aquatic biomass, such as algae and aquatic plants, for removing emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals and microplastics from contaminated environments. Researchers found that aquatic biomass-derived biochar can be an effective and low-cost adsorbent for a variety of pollutants. The study highlights the dual benefit of managing aquatic waste while creating useful materials for environmental cleanup.

2023 Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Highly Efficient Adsorption of Norfloxacin by Low-Cost Biochar: Performance, Mechanisms, and Machine Learning-Assisted Understanding

Researchers produced biochar from medicinal plant residue using potassium carbonate activation and demonstrated its effectiveness in removing the antibiotic norfloxacin from wastewater. The biochar achieved a high surface area and strong adsorption performance through multiple binding mechanisms including hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The study also employed machine learning to predict adsorption outcomes, offering a cost-effective approach to treating pharmaceutical contamination in water.

2024 ACS Omega 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient tetracycline hydrochloride degradation via peroxymonosulfate activation by N doped coagulated sludge based biochar: Insights on the nonradical pathway

Researchers found a way to repurpose waste sludge from microplastic removal processes by converting it into a nitrogen-doped carbon material that can break down the antibiotic tetracycline in water. The recycled material performed well across a wide pH range and worked primarily through a nonradical pathway to degrade the antibiotic. The study offers a dual benefit approach that addresses both microplastic waste management and antibiotic contamination in water systems.

2024 Environmental Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Hierarchically porous and anisotropic biochar from fast-growing balsa and paulownia woods for effective microplastic removal

Scientists converted fast-growing balsa and paulownia wood into a specially structured biochar — a carbon-rich material made by heating plant matter without oxygen — that demonstrated exceptional ability to capture polystyrene microplastics from water, achieving an adsorption capacity of 533 mg per gram while retaining 88% efficiency after 30 reuse cycles. The material also performed well on actual fragments from plastic bags and tea bags, and worked across a wide range of water types. Biochar made from abundant, fast-growing wood offers a scalable, sustainable, and recyclable option for microplastic removal in water treatment.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights to sorptive removal of four sulfonamide antibiotics from water using magnetite-functionalized biochar

This paper is not about microplastics. It investigates how magnetite-functionalized biochar removes sulfonamide antibiotics from water, finding that hydrogen bonding is the primary mechanism of adsorption and that the material's oxygen-containing surface groups drive removal efficiency. The study focuses on antibiotic water contamination remediation rather than microplastic pollution.

2023 Biochar 16 citations
Article Tier 2

The Use of Biochar for Removal of Emerging Contaminants in Contaminated Water

This literature review examined 15 studies on biochar for removing emerging contaminants from water and effluents, finding that biochar made from waste raw materials is a low-cost, efficient, and scalable adsorbent for various pollutants. The review is relevant to microplastic research as biochar has potential as a treatment material for water contaminated with emerging contaminants co-occurring with microplastics.

2023 Journal of Interdisciplinary Debates
Article Tier 2

Biochar applications in microplastic and nanoplastic removal: mechanisms and integrated approaches

This review explores how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste, can be used to filter microplastics and nanoplastics out of water. Researchers found that biochar works through several mechanisms and becomes even more effective when combined with other water treatment technologies. The study suggests biochar-based approaches could be a practical, low-cost strategy for tackling plastic pollution in water systems.

2024 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic mechanisms for the superior sorptive removal of aquatic pollutants via functionalized biochar-clay composite

Researchers developed a functionalized algal biochar-clay composite that achieved synergistic removal of antibiotics and dyes from water, with a thirty-fold increase in surface area compared to raw biochar, demonstrating effectiveness in both batch and continuous flow systems.

2023 Bioresource Technology 42 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of bulk-biochar and nano-biochar amendment on the removal of antibiotic resistance genes in microplastic contaminated soil

Researchers tested whether bulk-biochar and nano-biochar amendments could reduce antibiotic resistance genes in microplastic-contaminated soil. They found that microplastics initially increased the abundance of resistance genes, but both biochar types effectively inhibited their spread regardless of microplastic presence. The study suggests that biochar amendment is a promising strategy for managing antibiotic resistance in soils co-contaminated with microplastics.

2023 Environmental Research 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Decontamination of levofloxacin from water using a novel chitosan–walnut shells composite: linear, nonlinear, and optimization modeling

Researchers created a composite material from chitosan and walnut shells that can remove up to 94% of levofloxacin — a common antibiotic — from contaminated water, offering a low-cost, reusable approach to filtering pharmaceutical pollutants from water supplies.

2023 Applied Water Science 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Efficient removal of nanoplastics by iron-modified biochar: Understanding the removal mechanisms

Researchers created iron-modified biochar from green algae waste to remove nanoplastics from water. The modified biochar achieved a removal capacity three times higher than unmodified biochar, reaching up to 1,626 milligrams per gram, through a two-phase process of adsorption followed by aggregation. The study suggests this material could be recycled and reused at least three times, offering a practical approach to nanoplastic remediation.

2024 Environmental Pollution 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Preparation and application of metal-modified biochar in the purification of micro-polystyrene polluted aqueous environment

Researchers developed iron-modified biochar, a charcoal-like material, that can remove over 96% of polystyrene microplastics from water under controlled lab conditions. The material worked well in tap water and lake water but was less effective in heavily polluted water with high levels of organic matter. This type of low-cost water treatment technology could help reduce the amount of microplastics in drinking water, though more work is needed to apply it at larger scales.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-facilitated remediation of nanoplastic contaminated water: Effect of pyrolysis temperature induced surface modifications

Researchers synthesized sugarcane bagasse biochar at three pyrolysis temperatures and found that biochar produced at 750°C removed over 99% of nanoplastics from water within 5 minutes, with monolayer sorption kinetics and a capacity of 44.9 mg/g, offering a rapid and efficient agricultural-waste-derived remediation approach.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 227 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-based adsorption technologies for microplastic remediation in aquatic ecosystems

This review examines the use of biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, as a tool for removing microplastics from water. Biochar can effectively adsorb microplastic particles due to its porous structure and surface chemistry, and it can be produced cheaply from agricultural waste. The technology shows promise as an affordable and sustainable approach to reducing microplastic contamination in waterways, though challenges remain in scaling it up for real-world water treatment.

2025 AIP Advances 7 citations