Biochar Production and Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater and Sludge
This research community develops carbon-based materials from biomass to remove and recover phosphorus and heavy metals from wastewater, sewage sludge, and contaminated soil.
The work centers on producing biochar through pyrolysis or hydrothermal carbonization of agricultural residues like rice husk and modifying it with layered double hydroxides or metal oxides. These engineered materials are tested for their ability to adsorb phosphate from aqueous solutions and immobilize heavy metals in soil. A significant portion of the research focuses on converting sewage sludge and activated sludge into value-added biochar, effectively treating waste while recovering nutrients. The recurring methods include surface modification, functionalization, and the synthesis of biochar-metal oxide composites to enhance adsorption capacity and selectivity for specific contaminants.
This community constitutes 3.1% of all tracked phosphorus research, representing 9,448 papers, and 0.9% of nitrogen research, representing 4,519 papers.
There are 21,731 papers in this community, with the highest publication volume in Fuel, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Bioresource Technology.
Recent work continues to focus on optimizing biochar production techniques for soil application, developing phosphorus-modified biochars for heavy metal immobilization, and creating biochar-metal oxide nanocomposites for the catalytic degradation of pollutants in wastewater.