Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effect of biochar on soil microbial community, dissipation and uptake of chlorpyrifos and atrazine

Researchers tested biochar — a charcoal-like material made from mint-distilling waste — as a soil amendment to reduce contamination from two common pesticides, chlorpyrifos and atrazine, finding it significantly sped up pesticide breakdown and reduced uptake into plant tissues. The biochar also boosted populations of beneficial soil bacteria that help degrade these chemicals, suggesting it could be a practical tool for cleaning up pesticide-contaminated farmland.

2024 Biochar 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Comportamento físico-químico de inseticida cyantraniliprole em solos com diferentes atributos e remoção por biochar

This study (in Portuguese) examined how the insecticide cyantraniliprole behaves in soils with different properties and whether biochar can remove it. Soil organic matter and clay content affected how the chemical stuck to soil particles, while biochar showed promise in reducing the insecticide's mobility. Reducing pesticide leaching into groundwater is important for protecting drinking water sources.

2021
Article Tier 2

Removal of benzotriazole derivatives by biochar: Potential environmental applications

Researchers tested two types of biochar made from fruit tree kernels for their ability to remove benzotriazole compounds, which are common industrial wastewater pollutants. They achieved high removal efficiencies of up to 526 milligrams per gram, even in real wastewater samples. The study suggests that biochar from agricultural waste could serve as an effective and sustainable tool for treating contaminated water.

2023 Environmental Pollution 22 citations
Article Tier 2

AI-guided investigation of biochar’s efficacy in Pb immobilization for remediation of Pb contaminated agricultural land

Researchers evaluated ten types of biochar made from different biomass feedstocks for their ability to immobilize lead in contaminated agricultural soil. They used a machine learning approach to predict long-term immobilization effects and found that oilseed rape straw biochar pyrolyzed at 700 degrees was most effective. The study also accounted for simulated microplastic contamination during long-term incubation, providing a novel framework for predicting biochar performance in real-world remediation scenarios.

2024 Applied Biological Chemistry 10 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
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Impact of Glyphosate Contamination on Chemical Properties of Inceptisols Amelioration with Biochar from Rice Husks, Young Coconut Waste, and Bamboo

Biochar amendments partially mitigated the negative effects of glyphosate contamination on soil chemical properties in Inceptisols. Rice husk biochar was most effective at stabilizing soil pH, cation exchange capacity, and organic carbon levels, suggesting biochar can help buffer agricultural soils against herbicide damage.

2023 BIO Web of Conferences
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

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

Removal of microplastics and metals in biochar beds for stormwater treatment: Effects of prolonged drying and salinity on pollutant mobility

Researchers tested biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — as a filter for removing microplastics and heavy metals from stormwater runoff, finding it retained up to 99% of microplastics but that prolonged dry periods and high salinity increased the release of metals, highlighting real-world limitations of this promising treatment approach.

2026 Environmental Challenges
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

Iron-Modified Biochar Strengthens Simazine Adsorption and Decreases Simazine Decomposition in the Soil

Researchers found that iron-modified biochar significantly increased simazine herbicide adsorption in soil while slowing its microbial degradation, suggesting that while modified biochar reduces pesticide leaching risk, it may also extend herbicide persistence and alter soil microbial communities.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 23 citations
Article Tier 2

The utilization of biochar alone and in combination with compost for removal of potentially toxic metals accumulated in soils associated with land-use patterns

This review examined how different agricultural land-use patterns -- greenhouse fields, vegetable fields, forest fields, and maize fields -- contribute to heavy metal accumulation in soils, finding that fertilizer and pesticide application are primary drivers, and that biochar application alone or with compost can reduce heavy metal concentrations by 18 to 40% through precipitation, sorption, and ion exchange mechanisms.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
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
Article Tier 2

Hydraulic behaviour of sand-biochar mixtures in water and wastewater treatment applications

Researchers investigated how mixing biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic matter — into sand affects the flow of water through filter systems used to treat drinking water and wastewater, including for removing microplastics. By accounting for the unique pore structure inside biochar particles, they significantly improved the accuracy of models predicting how well these filters perform.

2022 Journal of Hydrology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of biochar on microplastics penetration treatment within soil porous medium under the wetting-drying cycles and optimisation of soil-biochar mixing format

Researchers tested whether plant-based biochar mixed into soil could prevent microplastics from moving deeper into the ground during repeated wetting and drying cycles that mimic seasonal rainfall. They found that biochar significantly improved microplastic retention in the soil, and experimented with different soil-biochar mixing configurations to optimize performance. The study suggests that biochar amendments could be a practical strategy for reducing microplastic migration through agricultural soils.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial responses towards biochar application in potentially toxic element (PTE) contaminated soil: a critical review on effects and potential mechanisms

Researchers reviewed how biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — can protect soil microorganisms from toxic heavy metal contamination by reducing metal availability and improving soil conditions. The review found that biochar addition consistently shifted microbial communities toward healthier, more diverse compositions, offering a practical soil remediation strategy aligned with sustainability goals.

2023 Biochar 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancing domestic wastewater treatment: Integrating vermifiltration and biochar for heavy metal and microplastic reduction and by-product utilization

Researchers tested a wastewater treatment system combining earthworms and biochar — a carbon-rich material made by burning organic matter — and found it removed up to 88.6% of microplastics and nearly 100% of several heavy metals from domestic wastewater. The system also produced nutrient-rich organic matter as a byproduct, offering a low-cost, eco-friendly solution for water treatment and soil improvement.

2024 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 14 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

Degradation Process of Herbicides in Biochar-Amended Soils: Impact on Persistence and Remediation

This review examines how biochar — a carbon-rich soil amendment — affects the persistence and degradation of herbicides in soil. While biochar can reduce some pollutants, it may also slow the natural breakdown of agricultural chemicals, illustrating complex tradeoffs in soil remediation.

2022 IntechOpen eBooks 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the Role of Dissolved Organic Matter on the Hg Phytoavailability in Biochar-Amended Soils

Researchers found that biochar reduces mercury availability to plants in soil primarily by promoting the formation of humus-like dissolved organic matter rather than by directly adsorbing mercury, with higher-temperature biochar providing greater protection.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10 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

Transport and retardation of microplastic in biochar

Researchers studied how biochar — a carbon material made from burned biomass — slows the movement of microplastics through soil and water systems. Biochar's ability to retard microplastic transport could help prevent plastic particles from spreading from contaminated agricultural land into waterways.

2023 Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar

This comprehensive review synthesizes 20 years of research on biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste that can improve soil health and reduce pollution. Biochar can reduce plant uptake of heavy metals by 17-39% and increase nutrient availability, making it potentially useful for cleaning up microplastic-contaminated soils. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because biochar could help mitigate the effects of soil pollutants that microplastics carry and concentrate.

2021 GCB Bioenergy 872 citations