Biochar from co-pyrolysis of biological sludge and woody waste followed by chemical and thermal activation: end-of-waste procedure for sludge management and biochar sorption efficiency for anionic and cationic dyes.

Nine biochars were produced by co-pyrolysis of sawdust and biological sludge following the "design of experiment" approach. Two kinds of sludge (both deriving from the treatment of mixed industrial-municipal wastewater) and two types of woody waste were selected as categorical predicting variables, while contact time, pyrolysis temperature, and sludge percentage were used as quantitative variables. Biochars were analysed for their product characteristics and environmental compatibility based on the European Standards (EN 12915-1:2009) for materials intended for water treatment (i.

Biochars intended for water filtration: A comparative study with activated carbons of their physicochemical properties and removal efficiency towards neutral and anionic organic pollutants.

Seven biochars (BCs) obtained from pyrolysis or gasification of different vegetal feedstocks were thoroughly characterized in comparison with three commercial activated carbons (ACs) routinely used in drinking water treatment plants. BCs and ACs characterization included the determinations of ash, iodine and methylene blue adsorption indexes, and the release of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which were performed according to international standards applied for adsorption media to be used in drinking waters. Total specific surface area, micropore and mesopore specific surface area, pH of the point of zero charge, and the release of polychlorinated biphenyls were also determined in all chars.

Physicochemical properties and sorption capacities of sawdust-based biochars and commercial activated carbons towards ethoxylated alkylphenols and their phenolic metabolites in effluent wastewater from a textile district.

Three biochars were produced using sawdust from waste biomass, via a simple pyrolysis thermal conversion at 450, 650, and 850 °C (BC450, BC650, and BC850), without any activation process. These materials, together with vegetal and mineral commercial activated carbons (VAC and MAC), were characterized for their elemental composition, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, t-plot microporosity and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda mesoporosity. Moreover, iodine, phenol and methylene blue porosity indexes were measured.