Papers

61,005 results
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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

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

Research Progress on the Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Water by Activated Persulfate Using Biochar-Loaded Nano Zero-Valent Iron

This review summarizes research on using biochar loaded with nano zero-valent iron to activate persulfate for degrading organic pollutants in water. Researchers found that combining biochar's adsorption capacity with the catalytic activity of nano zero-valent iron produces a synergistic effect that enhances pollutant removal. The study highlights this approach as a promising technology for water treatment and environmental remediation.

2024 Molecules 14 citations
Article Tier 2

The Prospect of Biochar by Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) in the Removal of Contaminants Emerging Concern (CECs)

This study evaluated biochar derived from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) as an adsorbent for removing pharmaceutical contaminants of emerging concern — particularly naproxen sodium — from wastewater, finding it to be a feasible and sustainable treatment material.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences
Article Tier 2

Biochar : A Review of its History, Characteristics, Factors that Influence its Yield, Methods of Production, Application in Wastewater Treatment and Recent Development

This review examines biochar's history, physicochemical properties, production methods, and applications in wastewater treatment, highlighting its high porosity and diverse functional groups that enable effective adsorption of contaminants including heavy metals and organic pollutants.

2021 Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar for the Removal of Emerging Pollutants from Aquatic Systems: A Review

This review examines the use of biochar, a carbon-rich material produced from biomass, for removing emerging pollutants from water systems. Researchers analyzed how different biochar types and pollutant characteristics affect removal efficiency, along with the underlying adsorption mechanisms. The study highlights biochar as a promising and cost-effective tool for water remediation while noting the need for further research on potential risks of its use.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 106 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar as a Catalyst in Persulfate Activation: A Sustainable Approach to Remove Pesticides from Water

Hardwood and wheat straw biochar catalysts were tested for persulfate activation to degrade the pesticides lindane and β-endosulfan from water, with pyrolysis temperature, feedstock type, pH, and persulfate concentration all shown to significantly influence removal efficiency.

2025 Processes 3 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

Performance and Mechanism of Fe3O4 Loaded Biochar Activating Persulfate to Degrade Acid Orange 7

Researchers developed an iron oxide-loaded biochar material that can activate persulfate to break down acid orange 7, a common industrial azo dye pollutant, in water. The modified biochar achieved high degradation rates through a combination of adsorption and advanced oxidation processes. The study demonstrates a potential low-cost approach for treating dye-contaminated wastewater using engineered biochar materials.

2023 Water 15 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

Adsorption of Pollutants from Wastewater by Biochar: A Review

This review examines how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be used to remove pollutants including microplastics, heavy metals, and organic chemicals from wastewater. Biochar works by adsorbing contaminants onto its surface, and its effectiveness can be improved through chemical modifications. The technology offers a low-cost, sustainable approach to water treatment that could help reduce microplastic contamination in water supplies.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 218 citations
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

Advanced adsorbents for ibuprofen removal from aquatic environments: a review

This review examines advanced methods for removing ibuprofen, a common painkiller, from water systems using materials like activated carbon, biochar, and metal-organic frameworks. Ibuprofen is widespread in waterways and poses risks to aquatic life and potentially human health. Carbon-based materials showed the highest removal capacity, offering promising solutions for cleaning pharmaceutical pollution from drinking water sources.

2023 Environmental Chemistry Letters 94 citations
Article Tier 2

Functionalized Biochars for Enhanced Removal of Heavy Metals from Aqueous Solutions: Mechanism and Future Industrial Prospects

This review examined functionalized biochar materials as adsorbents for removing heavy metals from water, comparing surface modification strategies that enhance metal uptake capacity and selectivity. Functionalized biochars showed substantially improved adsorption performance over unmodified biochar and low-cost conventional materials.

2022 Journal of Human Earth and Future 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Persulfate Activation Using Biochar from Pomegranate Peel for the Degradation of Antihypertensive Losartan in Water: The Effects of Pyrolysis Temperature, Operational Parameters, and a Continuous Flow Reactor

Researchers synthesized biochar from pomegranate peel at different temperatures and tested its ability to activate persulfate for degrading the blood pressure medication losartan in water. The biochar produced at the highest temperature showed the greatest catalytic activity due to its larger surface area. The study demonstrates an approach for breaking down pharmaceutical contaminants in water, addressing a class of emerging pollutants that often co-occurs with microplastics in aquatic environments.

2024 Catalysts 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in Biochar as a Sustainable Adsorbent for Water Pollution Mitigation

This review examines how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from plant waste, can remove over 80% of microplastics and nanoplastics from contaminated water, along with heavy metals and other pollutants. Advances in biochar production and machine learning optimization are making it a promising, sustainable tool for cleaning microplastic-polluted water before it reaches people.

2025 Advanced Science 52 citations
Article Tier 2

The Use of Biochar in Reducing Contamination of Soils in Agreste Pernambucano Region by Sulfamethoxazole and Sulfadiazine

Researchers investigated biochar as an amendment to sandy soils from Agreste Pernambuco to improve sorption of the antibiotics sulfamethoxazole and sulfadiazine, finding that biochar addition significantly increased antibiotic retention — reaching up to 123 mg/kg for sulfamethoxazole — reducing groundwater contamination risk.

2025 Revista Brasileira de Geografia Física
Article Tier 2

Advances in the Study of Heavy Metal Adsorption from Water and Soil by Modified Biochar

This review analyzes different methods for modifying biochar to improve its capacity to adsorb heavy metals from contaminated water and soil. Researchers examined how various modification techniques enhance biochar's adsorption performance for removing toxic metals from environmental substrates. The study provides a reference for practical applications of modified biochar in heavy metal remediation projects.

2022 Water 56 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-layered double hydroxide composites for the adsorption of tetracycline from water. Synthesis, Process Modeling and Mechanism

Researchers developed biochar-layered double hydroxide composites to remove the antibiotic tetracycline from water, finding high adsorption efficiency through multiple interaction mechanisms. This material offers a promising approach to cleaning pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater.

2023 Research Square (Research Square) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Progress on the Role of Biochar in COD Degradation in Wastewater

This review systematically examines the role of biochar in reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater treatment, exploring how biochar's surface area, pore structure, and functional groups enable COD removal via adsorption, catalytic degradation, and microbial interactions. The authors conclude that biochar offers a promising sustainable alternative to conventional wastewater purification methods.

2025 International Journal of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Systematic Review Tier 1

Degradation of Water Pollutants by Biochar Combined with Advanced Oxidation: A Systematic Review

This systematic review found that biochar combined with advanced oxidation processes is an effective and environmentally friendly approach for degrading organic pollutants in water. The catalytic activity depends on biochar's functional groups, metal components, and preparation methods, making this technology relevant for breaking down emerging contaminants including microplastics in aquatic environments.

2024 Water 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Optimization of Micro-Pollutants’ Removal from Wastewater Using Agricultural Waste-Derived Sustainable Adsorbent

Agricultural waste-derived biochar adsorbent was optimized for removing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from industrial wastewater, with the study presenting the first use of this specific waste-derived material to address PAH contamination in water.

2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15 citations
Article Tier 2

AI-driven biochar engineering for emerging pollutants removal from water: performance, mechanisms, and environmental perspectives

Researchers reviewed how biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — can be engineered at different levels of complexity, from raw biochar to AI-optimized advanced composites, to remove emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and micro- and nanoplastics from water. The review advocates for using AI to guide material design and prioritizing simpler, more sustainable biochar forms unless more advanced composites are truly necessary.

2026 Biochar