Hydrothermal recycling of carbon absorbents loaded with emerging wastewater contaminants.

Adsorption using carbon materials is one of the most efficient techniques for removal of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from wastewater. However, high costs are a major hurdle for their large-scale application in areas currently under economic constraints. While most research focuses on decreasing the adsorbent price by increasing its capacity, treatment costs for exhausted adsorbents and their respective end-of-life scenarios are often neglected.

Removal of contaminants of emerging concern from multicomponent systems using carbon dioxide activated biochar from lignocellulosic feedstocks.

Adsorption of six contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) - caffeine, chloramphenicol, carbamazepine, bisphenol A, diclofenac, and triclosan - from a multicomponent solution was studied using activated biochars obtained from three lignocellulosic feedstocks: wheat straw, softwood, and peach stones. Structural parameters related to the porosity and ash content of activated biochar and the hydrophobic properties of the CECs were found to influence the adsorption efficiency. For straw and softwood biochar, activation resulted in a more developed mesoporosity, whereas activation of peach stone biochar increased only the microporosity.

Extraction of active pharmaceutical ingredients from simulated spent activated carbonaceous adsorbents.

Activated carbon (AC) and activated biochar (ABC) are widely used as sorbents for micropollutant removal during water and wastewater treatment. Spent adsorbents can be treated in several ways, e.g.