Removal of Inorganic and Organic Pollutants from Soil by Biochar Application: A Sustainable Approach to Improve Soil Health
Snehal Narkhede, Enosh Phillips, Akansha Singhai, Ashish Dadsena, Reecha Sahu, Tanvir Arfin, Amita Shakya, Piyush Parkhey
Abstract
The increasing population raises the demand for products, increasing industrialization, modernization and energy utilization. Due to this, heavy metal contamination in the environment has paced up. Heavy metals are toxic to life forms and are non-biodegradable. Several methods, such as adsorption, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, and reverse osmosis, have been adopted for its removal. Adsorption is most favored; however, its usage is limited, given non-eco-friendly adsorbents. Regarding this, biochar is one of the promising, biodegradable, and non-toxic adsorbents available. Biochar is a porous material primarily prepared from bio-waste. Thermochemical processes produce the biochar for biomass conversion into biofuels and other bio-based products such as carbonization, pyrolysis and gasification. Due to its excellent surface area, porous structure, ample surface operational groups and large cation exchange capacities, biochar is an effective adsorbent for pollutants. It has been widely used to remove organic pollutants and heavy metals. Recently, a study reported using AI (Artificial Intelligence) with biochar to remove heavy metals. In the case of organic pollutants, biochar has been extensively studied for wastewater remediation. Therefore, this review presents comprehensive data focusing on using biochar for bioremediate organic pollutants and heavy metals.