Biochar-Based Arsenic Removal from Aqueous Systems
Summary
Arsenic contamination of groundwater and industrial effluents presents a persistent public health and environmental challenge across Asia, South America and parts of Africa. Biochar, a porous carbonaceous material derived from the thermal decomposition of biomass under limited oxygen, has emerged as a versatile and cost-effective adsorbent for arsenic species. Intrinsic properties such as high surface area, tunable pore structure and abundant surface functional groups confer strong affinity for arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)). Key removal mechanisms include surface complexation with phenolic and carboxylic moieties, electrostatic attraction under favourable pH conditions, ion exchange and redox transformations catalysed by embedded metal oxides. Functionalisation strategies—such as impregnation with iron, aluminium or mixed metal oxides, and composite formation with laterite or nanomaterials—have been shown to enhance adsorption capacity, selectivity and regenerability. Optimising pyrolysis temperature, feedstock composition and post-treatment methods is critical to achieving high removal efficiency, sustainable regeneration and safe disposal of spent biochar, thereby enabling scalable water remediation in resource-limited settings.
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Biochar-Based Arsenic Removal from Aqueous Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in biochar-based arsenic removal from aqueous systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Biochar: Carbon-rich solid produced by pyrolysis of biomass under oxygen-limited conditions, used as an adsorbent.
Adsorption capacity: Maximum mass of arsenic species that can be adsorbed per unit mass of biochar under defined conditions.
Langmuir isotherm: Model describing monolayer adsorption onto a surface with finite identical sites.
Pseudo-second-order kinetics: Rate model assuming adsorption rate is proportional to the square of available sites, often indicating chemisorption.
Surface complexation: Formation of chemical bonds between arsenic species and functional groups on biochar surfaces.
Regeneration: Process of restoring spent biochar’s adsorption performance using chemical or thermal treatment for repeated use.
References
- Optimized synthesis and characterization of laterite biochar composite for arsenic removal: examining colloidal stability and As(III) oxidation. Biochar (2024).
- Synthesis of Iron‐Modified Biochar Derived from Rice Straw and Its Application to Arsenic Removal. Journal of Chemistry (2019).
- Arsenic removal from water and soils using pristine and modified biochars. Biochar (2022).
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