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Biomass can be used as an energy source to thermochemical conversion processes to biocrude production. However, the supply and dependence on only one biomass for biocrude production can be an obstacle due to its seasonality, availability, and logistics costs. In this way, biomass waste and agroindustrial residues can be mixture and used as feedstock to the hydrothermal co-liquefaction (co-HTL) process as an alternative to obtaining biocrude. In this sense, the present paper analyzed the biocrude yield influence of the co-HTL from a quaternary unprecedented blend of different biomasses, such as sugarcane bagasse, brewer's spent grain (BSG), sludge from a paper recycling mill (PRM), and microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris). In this way, a simplex lattice design was employed and co-HTL experiments were carried out in a 2000 mL high-pressure stirred autoclave reactor under 275 °C for 60 min, considering 15% of feedstock/water ratio. Significant effects in each feedstock and their blends were analyzed aiming to increase biocrude and biochar yield. It was found that the addition of microalgae is only significant when considered more than 50% into the blend with BSG and PRM sludge to increase biocrude yield., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Mateus de Souza Amaral reports financial support was provided by Minas Gerais StateFoundation of Support to the Research. Sara Cangussu Bassoli reports financial support was provided by Coordination of Higher Education Personnel Improvement., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial properties of biochar have been attributed to its ability to inactivate foodborne pathogens in soil, to varying degrees. High concentrations of biochar have reduced E. coli O157:H7 in soil and dairy manure compost, based on alkaline pH. Preliminary studies evaluating 31 different biochars determined that two slow pyrolysis biochars (paper biochar and walnut hull cyclone biochar) were the most effective at inactivating E. coli in soil. A study was conducted to determine the lowest percentages of paper and walnut hull cyclone biochars needed to reduce E. coli O157:H7 in soil. A model soil was adjusted to 17.75% moisture, and the two types of biochar were added at concentrations of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, and 6.5%. Nontoxigenic E. coli O157:H7 were inoculated into soil at 6.84 log CFU/g and stored for up to 6 weeks at 21°C. Mean E. coli O157:H7 counts were 6.01-6.86 log CFU/g at all weeks between 1 and 6 in soil-only positive control samples. Populations in all soil amended with 1.0 and 1.5% of either type of biochar (as well as 2.0% of the walnut hull biochar) resulted in ≤0.68 log reductions at week 6, when compared with positive controls. All other concentrations (i.e., ≥2.0% paper and ≥2.5% walnut hull) inactivated ≥2.7 log at all weeks between 1 and 6 (p < 0.05). At the end of 6 weeks, E. coli O157:H7 declined by 2.84 log in 2.0% paper biochar samples, while concentrations of between 2.5 and 6.5% paper biochar completely inactivated E. coli O157:H7, as determined by spiral plating, at weeks 5 and 6. In contrast, 2.0% walnut hull biochar lowered populations by only 0.38 log at week 6, although 2.5-6.5% concentrations of walnut hull biochar resulted in complete inactivation at all weeks between 3 and 6, as assessed by spiral plating. In summary, ≥2.5% paper or walnut hull biochar reduced ≥5.0 log of E. coli O157:H7 during the 6-week storage period, which we attribute to high soil alkalinity. Amended at a 2.5% concentration, the pH of soil with paper or walnut hull biochar was 10.67 and 10.06, respectively. Results from this study may assist growers in the use of alkaline biochar for inactivating E. coli O157:H7 in soil., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Anaerobic digestion of floated paperboard sludge (PS) cake suffers from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation, nutrient unbalanced condition, and generation of digestate with a risk of secondary pollution. To overcome these drawbacks, sewage sludge (SS) was added to PS cake for biogas recovery improvement under a co-digestion process followed by the thermal treatment of solid fraction of digestate for biochar production. Batch experimental assays were conducted at different SS:PS mixing ratios of 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, and 20:80 (w/w), and their anaerobic co-digestion performances were compared to the mono-digestion systems at 35 ± 0.2 °C for 45 days. The highest methane yield (MY) of 241.68 ± 14.81 mL/g COD removed was obtained at the optimum SS:PS ratio of 50:50 (w/w). This experimental condition was accompanied by protein, carbohydrate, and VFA conversion efficiencies of 47.3 ± 3.2%, 46.8 ± 3.2%, and 56.3 ± 3.8%, respectively. The synergistic effect of SS and PS cake encouraged the dominance of Bacteroidota (23.19%), Proteobacteria (49.65%), Patescibacteria (8.12%), and Acidovorax (12.60%) responsible for hydrolyzing the complex organic compounds and converting the VFAs into biomethane. Further, the solid fraction of digestate was subjected to thermal treatment at a temperature of 500 °C for 2.0 h, under an oxygen-limited condition. The obtained biochar had a yield of 0.48 g/g dry digestate, and its oxygen-to-carbon (O/C), carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N), and carbon-to-phosphorous (C/P) ratios were 0.55, 10.23, and 16.42, respectively. A combined anaerobic co-digestion/pyrolysis system (capacity 50 m 3 /d) was designed based on the COD mass balance experimental data and biogenic CO 2 market price of 22 USD/ton. This project could earn profits from biogas (12,565 USD/yr), biochar (6641 USD/yr), carbon credit (8014 USD/yr), and COD shadow price (6932 USD/yr). The proposed project could maintain a payback period of 6.60 yr. However, further studies are required to determine the associated life cycle cost model that is useful to validate the batch experiment assumptions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

For the preparation of activated carbon papers (APCs) as supercapacitor electrodes, impurity substances were removed from rice husks, before carbonization and various activation temperature treatments, to optimize electro chemical efficiency. The porosities and electrochemical performances of the ACPs depended strongly on activation temperature: The specific surface area increased from 202.92 (500 °C) to 2158.48 m 2 g -1 (1100 °C). XRD and Raman analyses revealed that ACP graphitization also increased with the activation temperature. For activation at 1100 °C, the maximum specific capacitance was 255 F g -1 , and over 92% of its capacitance was retained after 2000 cycles.

Waste paper (WP) is rich in cellulose, which can be activated to produce porous carbon, bio-oil, and combustible gases. During chemical activation of WP, the use of varied chemical agents not only generates activated carbon of distinct pore structure but also bio-oil/gases of different property. In this study, the activation of WP with varied chemical agents was conducted. The distinct characteristics of activated carbon and also bio-oil/gases were correlated with the different nature of the used chemical agents. The results indicated that H 3 PO 4 and ZnCl 2 catalyzed polymerization reactions for producing more bio-oil while less gases owing to their Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites. K 2 C 2 O 4 showed high activity for cracking/gasification reactions, forming bio-oil with higher abundance of organics with smaller π-conjugated structures. In addition, ZnCl 2 could create a very coarse porous structure with abundant macropores via destroying fiber structure in WP and promoting the growth of graphitic crystals. In comparison, K 2 C 2 O 4 hindered the aromatization and facilitated the formation of amorphous activated carbon. K 2 C 2 O 4 and ZnCl 2 were much more effective than H 3 PO 4 for creating micropores and mesopores from WP, the derived activated carbon showed superior performances as the electrode of supercapacitor and adsorbent for adsorption of oxytetracycline from aqueous solution. In addition, K 2 C 2 O 4 as activating agent showed lower environmental impact than ZnCl 2 in terms of energy consumption, environmental pollution and the greenhouse effect., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The current investigation deals with how chemically activated carbon derived from industrial paper sludge (ACPS) performs on sorptive removal of enrofloxacin (ENF), an antibacterial drug from its water solution. Thermogravimetric (TGA) and proximate analysis of raw paper sludge (RPS) were conducted. ACPS was characterized with proximate analysis, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and BET. The influence of five operational parameters viz. adsorbate concentration (initial), dose of adsorbent, pH, temperature, and contact time on the adsorption of ENF onto ACPS has been conducted using batch experiments. The process of adsorption was optimized through ANN (artificial neural network) in addition to RSM (response surface methodology). The maximum percentage removal (95.85%) was achieved at initial ENF concentration 12 mg/g, adsorbent dose 1.2 g/L, contact duration of 18 h and temperature 20 °C. Kinetic data were best fitted into pseudo-second order kinetic model and adsorption equilibrium study indicates that the adsorption process follows Langmuir isotherm model. Adsorption capacity was noted to have a highest value of 44.44 mg/g. A study on thermodynamics of the adsorption process suggests that it exhibits spontaneity, being essentially exothermic. Cost analysis and reusability study confirm that adsorbent produced from industrial paper sludge is cost-effective and reusable. Therefore, ACPS as adsorbent has potency for removing ENF from aqueous solution., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) toxicity and sorption behaviour of biochars prepared from pyrolysis of paper mill effluent treatment plant (ETP) sludge in temperature range 200-700 °C was studied. The sorption behaviour was found to depend on the degree of carbonization where the fractions of carbonized and uncarbonized organic content in the biochar act as an adsorption media and partition media, respectively. The sorption and partition fractions were quantified by isotherm separation method and isotherm parameters were correlated with biochar properties (aromaticity, polarity, surface area, pore volume and ash content). The risk assessment for the 16 priority EPA PAHs present in the biochar matrix was performed and it was found that the concentrations of the PAHs in the biochar were within the permissible limits prescribed by US EPA (except BC400 and BC500 for high molecular weight PAHs)., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A facile strategy, engineered for low-cost mass production, to synthesize biomass-derived activated carbon/reduced graphene oxide composite electrodes (GBPCs) by one-pot carbonization of blotting papers containing graphene oxide (GO) and zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ) was proposed. Benefitting from the water absorption characteristic of blotting papers in which the voids between the celluloses can easily absorb the GO/ZnCl 2 solution, the chemical activation and reduction of GO can synchronously achieve via one-step carbonization process. As a result, the GBPCs deliver a large specific surface area to accumulate charge. Simultaneously, it provides high conductivity for electron transfer. The symmetric supercapacitor assembled with the optimal GBPCs in 6 M KOH electrolyte exhibits an excellent specific capacitance of 204 F g -1 (0.2 A g -1 ), outstanding rate capability of 100 F g -1 (20 A g -1 ). Meanwhile, it still keeps 90% of the initial specific capacitance over 10,000 cycles. The readily available raw material, effective chemical activation, simple rGO additive, and resulting electrochemical properties hold out the promise of hope to achieve low-cost, green, and large-scale production of practical activated carbon composite materials for high-efficiency energy storage applications.

Risk assessment and technical feasibility of brick formation from exhausted paper mill sludge derived biochar obtained after its use as an adsorbent for the treatment of effluent containing pentachlorophenol was studied. The bricks were prepared by geopolymerization mechanism in presence of sodium hydroxide, and the extent of geopolymerization was determined on the basis of crystal structure, surface functionalities, and surface morphology of the bricks. The preparation parameters (sodium hydroxide dosage, initial water and calcium carbonate content and curing temperature) were optimized and the results were analyzed in terms of compressive strength, water absorption, and abrasion index. Risk assessment of heavy metals was performed to determine the contamination level and overall hazard index of the biochar-based geopolymer bricks. Hazard quotient and hazard index were calculated to assess the overall non-carcinogenic risk posed by selected heavy metals via ingestion and dermal contact. The leaching potential of heavy metal and pentachlorophenol from the biochar-based geopolymer bricks was also determined. The results showed that the biochar-based geopolymer bricks showed good mechanical properties and the concentration of heavy metals in the leachate falls within the permissible limits prescribed by Indian Standards for Industrial and Sewage Effluents Discharge (inland surface water).

Catcherboard MB12® from Smurfit Kappa is a recycled paperboard incorporating activated carbon to reduce the release of contaminants into food. An approach is proposed to determine the efficacy of the activated carbon. Sorption into activated carbon increases the concentration ratio paperboard/food (distribution coefficient) and reduces the migration rate, i.e. prolongs the time for equilibration. Using silicone paper as food simulant, the concentration ratio was increased by a factor of at least 1000 compared to recycled paperboard without activated carbon, which is sufficient to meet the 1% criterion proposed for barriers. Sorbents have limited capacity. A load with in total 4000 mg surrogate substances/kg paperboard (in addition to the material from the paperboard) exceeded the capacity: concentration ratios were reduced and the release of paperboard constituents increased. Capacity is consumed by constituents from the printing inks and the packed food. Total amounts of substances in dry foods of sufficient volatility to potentially migrate into the paperboard through the gas phase at ambient temperature were determined by GC-FID. For the large majority of the dry foods, these amounts were clearly below the capacity limit even under the exaggerated assumption of total transfer. Migration of mineral oil hydrocarbons into cat food over up to 1 year was not detectable at 1 mg/kg. It is concluded that recycled paperboard with activated carbon is promising for respecting the 1% criterion stipulated for functional barriers to avoid food contamination from recycled paperboard.

In this work, a granular activated carbon (GAC) was produced using primary paper mill sludge (PS) as raw material and ammonium lignosulfonate (AL) as binder agent. PS is a residue from the pulp and paper industry and AL is a by-product of the cellulose pulp manufacture and the proposed production scheme contributes for their valorisation together with important savings in GAC precursors. The produced GAC (named PSA-PA) and a commercially available GAC (GACN), used as reference material, were physically and chemically characterized. Then, these materials were tested in batch experiments for the adsorption of carbamazepine (CBZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and paroxetine (PAR) from ultra-pure water and wastewater. Even though GACN and PSA-PA possess very similar specific surface areas (S BET ) (629 and 671 m 2  g -1 , respectively), PSA-PA displayed lower maximum adsorption capacities (q m ) than GACN for the pharmaceuticals here studied (6 ± 1-44 ± 5 mg g -1 and 49 ± 6-106 ± 40 mg g -1 , respectively). This may be related to the comparatively higher incidence of mesopores in GACN, which might have positively influenced its adsorptive performance. Moreover, the highest hydrophobic character and degree of aromaticity of GACN could also have contributed to its adsorption capacity. On the other hand, the performance of both GACs was significantly affected by the matrix in the case of CBZ and SMX, with lower q m in wastewater than in ultra-pure water. However, the adsorption of PAR was not affected by the matrix. Electrostatic interactions and pH effects might also have influenced the adsorption of the pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Sludge-based activated carbon (SAC) was prepared from paper mill sewage sludge by physical activation with steam for wastewater treatment in this study. The effects of preparation variables, including carbonization temperature, carbonization time, activation temperature and activation time, on iodine number and yield were investigated through orthogonal experiments. The influences of washing by deionized water and acid on the characteristics and adsorption capacities of SAC for phosphate, methylene blue and reactive red 24 were also studied. The results indicated that the optimal preparation conditions were: carbonization temperature of 350 °C, carbonization time of 40 min, activation temperature of 800 °C and activation time of 20 min. The characteristics and adsorption capacities of SAC were obviously different before and after washing, especially by acid. The surface area was improved and adsorption capacities for dyes increased after washing, while adsorption capacity for phosphate decreased. The maximum adsorption capacities provided strong evidence of the potential of SAC as an alternative adsorbent for wastewater treatment.

We assessed viability of 18 strains of filamentous ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic basid-iomycetes and ascomycetes after cryopreservation with a novel technique based on charcoal filter paper strips (CFS). The results indicate that axenic fungal cultures grown on CFS recovered from freezing within a few days, even though none survived cryopreservation by the conventional straw method. Fungal growth on CFS was more vigorous, with morphological differentiations such as rhizomorphs and an increased amount of aerial mycelia compared to the unamended culture media. Accordingly CFS allows the cryopreservation of a wide range of rare and important ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi, which hitherto were difficult to revive from liquid nitrogen storage with the conventional and widely applied straw technique.

Ubiquitin activating enzyme (UAE, UBE1, or E1) and seven known homologous "E1s" initiate the conjugation pathways for ubiquitin and 16 other ubiquitin-like modifiers (ULMs) found in humans. The initial step catalyzed by E1s uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to adenylate the C terminus of the appropriate ULM and results in the production of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi). The mechanism of these enzymes can be studied with assays that measure the rate of ULM-dependent ATP:PPi exchange. The traditional method follows the initial velocity of [32P]PPi incorporation into ATP by capturing the nucleotide on activated charcoal powder to separate it from excess [32P]PPi and then measuring [32P]ATP in a scintillation counter. We have modified the method by using charcoal paper to capture the nucleotide and a phosphorimager to quantify the [32P]ATP. The significant increase in throughput that these modifications provide is accomplished without any sacrifice in sensitivity or accuracy compared with the traditional method. To demonstrate this, we reproduce and extend the characterization of the NEDD8 activating enzyme.

An engineered biochar was fabricated via paper mill sludge pyrolysis under CO 2 atmosphere, and its adsorption capability for As(V) and Cd(II) in aqueous solution was evaluated in a batch mode. The characterization results revealed that the biochar had the structure of complex aggregates containing solid minerals (FeO, Fe 3 O 4 and CaCO 3 ) and graphitic carbon. Adsorption studies were carried out covering various parameters including pH effect, contact time, initial concentrations, competitive ions, and desorption. The adsorption of As(V) and Cd(II) reached apparent equilibrium at 180min, and followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. The highest equilibrium uptakes of As(V) and Cd(II) were 22.8 and 41.6mgg -1 , respectively. The adsorption isotherms were better described by Redlich-Peterson model. The decrease in As(V) adsorption was apparent with the increase in PO 4 3- concentration, and a similar inhibition effect was observed for Cd(II) adsorption with Ni(II) ion. The feasibility of regeneration was demonstrated through desorption by NaOH or HCl., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Methanol is one of the major hazardous air pollutants emitted from chemical pulp mills. Its collection and treatment is required by the Maximum Achievable Control Technology portion of the 1998 Cluster Rule. The objective of this study is to investigate the technical feasibility of combined adsorption and photocatalytic regeneration for the removal and destruction of methanol. To facilitate the regeneration, activated carbon (AC) was coated with commercially available photocatalyst by a spray desiccation method. Laboratory-scale experiments were conducted in a fixed-bed reactor equipped with an 8 W black light UV lamp (peak wavelength at 365 nm) at the center. The photocatalyst loaded onto AC had no significant impact on the adsorption capacity of the carbon. High humidity was found to greatly reduce the material's capacity in the adsorption and simultaneous adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation of methanol. The photocatalytic regeneration process is limited by the desorption of the adsorbate. Increasing desorption rate by using purge air greatly increased the regeneration capacity. When the desorption rate was greater than the photocatalytic oxidation rate, however, part of the methanol was directly desorbed without degradation.

The feasibility of activated carbon post-treatment of (biologically treated) wastewater from the paper and board industry was investigated, the goal being to remove refractory organic pollutants and produce water that can be re-used in the production process. Because closing water-circuits in the paper and board industry results in higher water temperatures, the effect of the temperature on activated carbon treatment was also investigated. Batch and column adsorption tests showed that activated carbon provides an excellent removal of cationic demand and color related compounds, the two most important representatives of organic compounds that have to be removed. Unexpectedly, higher water temperatures enhanced the performance of activated carbon. However, the treatment costs, mainly determined by transport and regeneration of the carbon, were very high. At long contact times between the wastewater and the carbon the occurrence of biodegradation was observed. Biological regeneration of the carbon may therefore provide a means to reduce the treatment costs, but a practical application requires further research.

The risk analysis was performed to study the bioavailability and eco-toxicity of heavy metals in biochar obtained from pyrolysis of sludge of pulp and paper mill effluent treatment plant. The sludge was pyrolyzed at different temperatures (200-700°C) and the resultant biochar were analyzed for fractionation of heavy metals by sequential extraction procedure. It was observed that all the heavy metals get enriched in biochar matrix after pyrolysis, but the bioavailability and eco-toxicity of the heavy metals in biochar were significantly reduced as the mobile and bioavailable heavy metal fractions were transformed into the relatively stable fractions. Moreover, it was observed that the leaching potential of heavy metals decreased after pyrolysis and the best results were obtained for biochar pyrolyzed at 700°C., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This research focuses on examining the potential impact of charcoal briquettes and lumps on human health due to the emissions they release, and verifying their quality standards. Quality assessment was conducted using a device capable of measuring toxic gases to identify contaminants from various sources such as biomass, synthetic resins, coal, metals, and mineral matter. Toxicity assessments were carried out on five types of briquettes and two varieties of lump charcoal. All charcoal samples were subjected to elemental analysis (SEM/EDAX), including the examination of Ca, Al, Cr, V, Cu, Fe, S, Sr, Si, Ba, Pb, P, Mn, Rb, K, Ti, and Zn. The results showed that burning lump charcoal had toxicity indexes ranging from 2.5 to 5, primarily due to NO x emissions. Briquettes, on the other hand, exhibited higher toxicity indices between 3.5 and 6.0, with CO 2 being the main contributor to toxicity. The average 24-h CO content of all charcoal samples exceeded the World Health Organization's 24-h Air Quality Guideline of 6.34 ppm, with a measurement of 37 ppm. The data indicates that most of the products tested did not meet the prevailing quality standard (EN 1860-2:2005 (E) in Appliances, solid fuels and firelighters for barbecuing-Part 2: Barbecue charcoal and barbecue charcoal briquettes-Requirements and test method, 2005), which specifies a maximum of 1% contaminants, with some products containing as much as 21% impurities. The SEM analysis revealed irregularly shaped grains with an uneven distribution of particles, and the average particle size distribution is quite broad at 5 μm. Malaysia Charcoal had the highest calorific value at 32.80 MJ/Kg, with the value being influenced by the fixed carbon content-higher carbon content resulting in a higher calorific value., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Biochar, an organic carbonaceous matter, is a unique feed additive that is now being used in aquaculture industry to formulate a cost-effective and eco-friendly diet. This experiment (in door) was conducted over course of 90 days to determine the most effective form of biochar, produced from various sources, for supplementation in Moringa oleifera seed meal-based diet. These sources were: farmyard manure biochar, parthenium biochar (PB), vegetable waste biochar, poultry waste biochar (PWB) and corncob waste biochar, added at 2 g/kg concentration to determine the effect of supplementation on the growth indices, nutrient absorption, carcass composition, haematology and mineral status of Labeo rohita (rohu) fingerlings. The research design consisted of six test diets with three replications (6 × 3) of each. Total of 270 fingerlings (6.30 ± 0.020 g) were fed at 5% body weight and 15 of them were kept in separate steel tanks. The results indicated that PWB was most effective in improving weight gain (285.58 ± 4.54%) and feed conversion ratio (1.060 ± 0.040) compared to control diet and other test diets. The same type of biochar (PWB) produced the best results for nutrient digestibility, that is, crude protein, crude fat and gross energy and carcass composition. In terms of haematology and mineral status, PWB showed the best results. In conclusion, it was found that PWB significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) L. rohita fingerling's growth, carcass composition, nutrient digestibility, haematological parameters (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and haemoglobin) and mineral composition (Ca, Na, P, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, K and Cu) whereas PB negatively affected all parameters. It is anticipated that the potential use of biochar will increase in aquaculture industry, as research on its incorporation in fish feeds is still limited., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Paper mill sludge (PMS) was utilized to prepare granular activated carbon (GAC) fillers for fluidized-bed bioreactor (FBBR) through stream activation. The properties of the PMS were tested and the optimum conditions for the production process were determined. Then, the GAC fillers were used in the FBBR to investigate the capacity for wastewater treatment. The results showed that the optimal conditions were: carbonization temperature of 450 degrees C, carbonization time of 50 min, activation temperature of 800 degrees C and activation time of 60 min. The specific surface area of the GAC fillers was 130 m2/g and the grain density was 1.34 x 10(3) kg/m3. The wastewater treatment results showed that after40 days ofrunning, under the conditions of influent COD of 800 mg/L and HRT of2 h, the COD removal efficiency was about 90%, which demonstrated that PMS-based GAC fillers were feasible for FBBR.

A pilot scale granular activated carbon-sequencing batch biofilm reactor with a capacity of 2.2 m3 was operated for over three months to evaluate its performance treating real recycled paper industry wastewater under different operational conditions. In this study, dissolved air floatation (DAF) and clarifier effluents were used as influent sources of the pilot plant. During the course of the study, the reactor was able to biodegrade the contaminants in the incoming recycled paper mill wastewater in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), adsorbable organic halides (AOX; specifically 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP)) and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) removal efficiencies at varying hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 1-3 days, aeration rates (ARs) of 2.1-3.4 m3/min and influent feed concentration of 40-950 mg COD/l. Percentages of COD, 2,4-DCP and NH3-N removals increased with increasing HRT, resulting in more than 90% COD, 2,4-DCP and NH3-N removals at HRT values above two days. Degradation of COD, 2,4-DCP and NH3-N were seriously affected by variation of ARs, which resulted in significant decrease of COD, 2,4-DCP and NH3-N removals by decreasing ARs from 3.4 m3/min to 2.1 m3/min, varying in the ranges of 24-80%, 6-96% and 5-42%, respectively. In comparison to the clarifier effluent, the treatment performance of DAF effluent, containing high COD concentration, resulted in a higher COD removal of 82%. The use of diluted DAF effluent did not improve significantly the COD removal. Higher NH3-N removal efficiency of almost 100% was observed during operation after maintenance shutdown compared to normal operation, even at the same HRT of one day due to the higher dissolved oxygen concentrations (1-7 mg/l), while no significant difference in COD removal efficiency was observed.

This study aims to underline the huge potential in Canada of adding value to cardboard and compost as a renewable fuel with a low ecological footprint. The slow pyrolysis process of lined cardboard and compost blend was investigated. Thermal behavior was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS). The thermal profiles are presented in the form of TGA/DTG curves. With a constant heating rate of 10 °C/min, two parameters, temperature and time were varied. Cardboard decomposition occurred mostly between 203 °C and 436 °C, where 77% of the sample weight was decomposed. Compost blend decomposition occurred mostly between 209 °C and 373 °C, with 23% of weight. The principal gaseous products that evolved during the pyrolysis were H2O, CO and CO2. As a result, slow pyrolysis led to the formation of biochar. High yield of biochar from cardboard was found at 250 °C for a duration of 60 min (87.5%) while the biochar yield from the compost blend was maintained constant at about 31%. Finally, kinetic parameters and a statistical analysis for the pyrolysis process of the cardboard and compost samples have been investigated. Both materials showed a favorable thermochemical behavior. However, unlike cardboard, compost pyrolysis does not seem a promising process because of the low superior calorific and biochar values., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The wide occurrence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments urges the development of cost-effective solutions for their removal from water. In a circular economy context, primary paper mill sludge (PS) was used to produce activated carbon (AC) aiming the adsorptive removal of these contaminants. The use of low-cost precursors for the preparation of ACs capable of competing with commercial ACs continues to be a challenge. A full factorial design of four factors (pyrolysis temperature, residence time, precursor/activating agent ratio, and type of activating agent) at two levels was applied to the production of AC using PS as precursor. The responses analysed were the yield of production, percentage of adsorption for three pharmaceuticals (sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, and paroxetine), specific surface area (S BET ), and total organic carbon (TOC). Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate influencing factors in the responses and to determine the most favourable production conditions. Four ACs presented very good responses, namely on the adsorption of the pharmaceuticals under study (average adsorption percentage around 78%, which is above that of commercial AC), and S BET between 1389 and 1627 m 2  g -1 . A desirability analysis pointed out 800 °C for 60 min and a precursor/KOH ratio of 1:1 (w/w) as the optimal production conditions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Cadmium (Cd) contamination is a widespread environmental issue. There is a lack of knowledge about the impacts of applying arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biochar, either alone or in their combination, on alleviating Cd phytotoxicity in Ligustrum lucidum. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, where L. lucidum seedlings were randomly subjected to four regimes of AMF treatments (inoculation with sterilized AMF, with Rhizophagus irregularis, Diversispora versiformis, alone or a mixture of these two fungi), and two regimes of biochar treatments (with or without rice-husk biochar), as well as three regimes of Cd treatments (0, 15, and 150 mg kg -1 ), to examine the responses of growth, photosynthetic capabilities, soil enzymatic activities, nutritional concentrations, and Cd absorption of L. lucidum plants to the interactive effects of AMF, biochar, and Cd. The results demonstrated that under Cd contaminations, AMF alone significantly increased plant total dry weight, soil pH, and plant nitrogen (N) concentration by 84%, 3.2%, and 13.2%, respectively, and inhibited soil Cd transferring to plant shoot by 42.2%; biochar alone significantly enhanced net photosynthetic rate, soil pH, and soil catalase of non-mycorrhizal plants by 16.4%, 9%, and 11.9%, respectively, and reduced the soil Cd transferring to plant shoot by 44.7%; the additive effect between AMF and biochar greatly enhanced plant total dry weight by 101.9%, and reduced the soil Cd transferring to plant shoot by 51.6%. Furthermore, dual inoculation with D. versiformis and R. irregularis conferred more benefits on plants than the single fungal species did. Accordingly, amending Cd-contaminated soil with the combination of mixed-fungi inoculation and biochar application performed the best than either AMF or biochar alone. These responses may have been attributed to higher mycorrhizal colonization, soil pH, biomass accumulation, and biomass allocation to the roots, as well as photosynthetic capabilities. In conclusion, the combined use of mixed-fungi involving D. versiformis and R. irregularis and biochar addition had significant synergistic effects on enhancing plant performance and reducing Cd uptake of L. lucidum plants in Cd-contaminated soil., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Charcoal production stemming from small-scale Eucalyptus camaldulensis plantations has brought about significant socio-economic benefits and improved livelihoods in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, the current practice involves the use of traditional earth mound kilns, leading to inefficiencies, reduced charcoal income, and environmental pollution. This research aims to assess charcoal conversion efficiency, perform a cost-benefit analysis, and measure gas emissions from improved charcoal-making kilns sourced from Eucalyptus camaldulensis small-scale plantations in comparison to traditional earth mound kilns in northwestern Ethiopia. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was executed, with a significance level set at 0.05. The study results indicate a significant (P < 0.001) disparity in charcoal conversion efficiency across the various tested kilns, with the ranking as follows: Green mad retort kiln (33.7%) > Casamance kiln (32.09%) > MRV steel kiln (28.25%) > traditional earth mound kilns (23.55%). The improved charcoal-making kilns enhanced wood-to-charcoal conversion efficiency by 20-43% compared to traditional earth mound kilns. In terms of financial viability, Casamance improved kilns generated the highest equivalent annual charcoal income (117,126.9 ETB/year), followed by Green Mad Retort (82,893.8 ETB/year) and MRV steel kilns (58,495.9 ETB/year). As anticipated, traditional earth mound kilns yielded the lowest net present value (47,304.3 ETB/year). Traditional earth mound kilns also exhibited significantly longer carbonization times (P < 0.001), taking 3.6 times longer than the Mark V kiln and 2 times longer than the Casamance kiln. Furthermore, the statistical analysis demonstrated that improved charcoal-making technology reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 36.1-50.7%, carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 39.2-54.3%, and methane (CH4) emissions by 29.6-47%. In conclusion, the use of improved charcoal-making kilns has demonstrated significant enhancements in charcoal conversion efficiency, charcoal income, and environmental sustainability. Given these positive outcomes, we strongly recommend a decisive transition from traditional to cleaner, sustainable, and less emissions-intensive charcoal making kilns., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Various methods to prepare and characterize TiO(2) photocatalyst loaded onto activated carbon (AC) support have been developed over the last decade. This photocatalyst has been used in a variety of investigations, i.e. from water decontamination to direct pollutant degradation in aqueous and gas phase systems using UV irradiation and lately with the assistance of ultrasonic sound waves. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method is one of the most promising and well-researched methods for deposition of catalysts onto supports. Given its advantage, from an engineering and fundamental aspect, CVD method also has commercial applications. A detailed search of published reports of these investigations was carried out and analyzed in this paper with focus on CVD techniques, activated carbon support and sonication.

Activated carbon with large specific surface area and well-developed porosity was prepared from pyrolysis of K2CO3-impregnated lignin precipitated from reed pulp black liquors. The impregnation ratio was 1:1. The effect of activation temperature upon the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area and pore volume of the carbon was closely investigated. Increasing activation temperature led to an opening and widening of the porous structure below 800'C. Above 800'C, the excess widening of pore led to the decrease of BET surface area and micropore volume. The BET surface area and pore volume of the carbon activated at 800 degrees C were 1395 m(2) g(-1) and 0.7702 ml g(-1) , respectively. The potential application of the carbon activated at 800 degrees C for removal of Cr (VI) was also investigated. The experimental results showed that it had good adsorption capacity.

Single-dose activated charcoal therapy involves the oral administration or instillation by nasogastric tube of an aqueous preparation of activated charcoal after the ingestion of a poison. Volunteer studies demonstrate that the effectiveness of activated charcoal decreases with time. Data using at least 50 g of activated charcoal, showed a mean reduction in absorption of 47.3%, 40.07%, 16.5% and 21.13%, when activated charcoal was administered at 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 120 minutes and 180 minutes, respectively, after dosing. There are no satisfactorily designed clinical studies assessing benefit from single-dose activated charcoal to guide the use of this therapy. Single-dose activated charcoal should not be administered routinely in the management of poisoned patients. Based on volunteer studies, the administration of activated charcoal may be considered if a patient has ingested a potentially toxic amount of a poison (which is known to be adsorbed to charcoal) up to one hour previously. Although volunteer studies demonstrate that the reduction of drug absorption decreases to values of questionable clinical importance when charcoal is administered at times greater than one hour, the potential for benefit after one hour cannot be excluded. There is no evidence that the administration of activated charcoal improves clinical outcome. Unless a patient has an intact or protected airway, the administration of charcoal is contraindicated. A review of the literature since the preparation of the 1997 Single-dose Activated Charcoal Position Statement revealed no new evidence that would require a revision of the conclusions of the Statement.

The activated carbon was produced in the first phase of this investigation by chemically activating hazelnut shell waste with H 3 PO 4 . Composite materials were obtained by coating the activated carbon with zinc oxide, whose BET surface area was calculated as 1278 m 2 g -1 . ZnO-doped ZnO/AC composite was synthesized as an adsorbent for its possible application in the elimination of organic dyestuff MB, and its removal efficiency was investigated. Morphological properties of ZnO/AC were characterized using analytical methods such as XRD, SEM, and BET. The adsorption system and its parameters were investigated and modeled using the response surface method of batch adsorption experiments. The experimental design consisted of three levels of pH (3, 6.5, and 10), initial MB concentration (50, 100, and 150 mg L -1 ), dosage (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 g 100 mL -1 ), and contact time (5, 50, and 95 min). The results from the RSM suggested that the MB removal efficiency was 98.7% under the optimum conditions of the experimental factors. The R 2 value, which expresses the significance of the model, was determined as 99.05%. Adsorption studies showed that the equilibrium data fit well with the Langmuir isotherm model compared to Freundlich. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 270.70 mg g -1 ., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

In this study, magnetic coconut shell biochar loaded with spherical Fe 3 O 4 and γ-Fe 2 O 3 particles was successfully synthesized using a chemical coprecipitation method. The magnetic biochar exhibited a good magnetic separability and environmental security. The maximum sulfadiazine (SDZ) and norfloxacin (NOR) removal efficiencies were 94.8% and 92.3% at pH 4 and 25 °C with adsorbent dosage of 2.5 g/L, respectively. When antibiotic concentrations ranged from 5 to 50 mg/L, the theoretical maximum adsorption capacities of SDZ and NOR were 16.7 mg/g and 25.8 mg/g, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models could better describe the adsorption process of both antibiotics, implying the monolayer chemical adsorption. The thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The ionic strength had no significant effect on the adsorption behavior of either antibiotic. Combined with BET, FTIR, and XPS results, the dominant mechanisms for SDZ and NOR adsorption were pore filling, π-π electron-donor-acceptor interaction, hydrogen bonds and surface complexation. Moreover, Lewis acid-base interaction also contributed to SDZ adsorption., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The treatment of raw foul air that could escape to the atmosphere from the head space of the incoming wastewater sewer lines into a Southern California Water Resource Recovery Facility was evaluated by using a 1/20th scale pilot unit consisting of three different granular activated carbon filter technologies, operating side by side, under similar operating conditions, each having an average 3.8-s contact time. The three activated carbon filters contained each 0.07 m 3 of coconut, coal, and coconut mixed with permanganate media. The foul air entering the granular activated carbon filters contained 82% to 83% relative humidity. No moisture removal mechanism was used prior to treatment. The removal of six different odor characters from eight chemical odorants present in the foul air were assessed. These were rotten egg (hydrogen sulfide), rotten vegetables (methyl mercaptan), canned corn (dimethyl sulfide), rotten garlic (dimethyl disulfide), earthy/musty (2-methyl isoborneol and 2-isopropyl 3-methoxy pyrazine), and fecal (skatole and indole). This is the first time a study evaluates the removal of specific odors by simultaneously employing sensory analyses using the odor profile method, which defines the different odor characters and intensities, together with chemical analyses of the odorants causing these odors. The results show that the three granular activated carbon filters, before hydrogen sulfide breakthrough, provided significant improvement in odor intensity and odorant removal. Breakthrough was reached after 57 days for the coconut mixed with permanganate, 107 days for the coconut, and 129 days for the coal granular activated carbon filter. Breakthrough (the critical saturation point of the activated carbon media) was considered reached when the hydrogen sulfide percentage removal diminished to 90% and continued downward. The coconut mixed with permanganate granular activated carbon filter provided the best treatment among the media tested, achieving very good reduction of odorants, as measured by chemical analyses, and reasonable removal of odor intensities, as measured by the odor profile method. The coconut mixed with permanganate granular activated carbon is recommended for short-term odor control systems at sewer networks or emergency plant maintenance situations given its shorter time to breakthrough compared with the other granular activated carbons. The coal and coconut granular activated carbon filters are generally used as the last stage of an odor treatment system. Because of the observed poor to average performance in removing odorants other than hydrogen sulfide, the treatment stage(s) prior to the use of these granulated activated carbons should provide a good methyl mercaptan removal of at least 90% in order to avoid the formation of dimethyl disulfide, which, in the presence of moisture in the carbon filter, emit the characteristic rotten garlic odor. The differences observed between the performances based on odorant removal by chemical analysis compared with those based on sensorial analyses by the odor profile method indicate that both analyses are required to understand more fully the odor dynamics. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Three virgin granulated activated carbon media were evaluated in a field pilot unit using raw collections foul air. Coal, coconut, and coconut mixed with permanganate were tested until breakthrough. Samples were analyzed both chemically (odorants) and sensorially (odors). Coconut mixed with permanganate proved to be the media that better reduced odorants and odors., (© 2024 Water Environment Federation.)

The efficiency of combining iron sulfate and organic amendments (paper mill sludge, olive mill waste compost and olive tree pruning biochar) for the remediation of an As- and Cu-contaminated soil was evaluated. Changes in As and Cu fractionation and solubility due to the application of the amendments was explored by leachate analysis, single and sequential extractions. Also, the effects on Arrhenatherum elatius growth, germination of Lactuca sativa and toxicity to the bacteria Vibrio fischeri were assessed. The combination of iron sulfate and the organic amendments efficiently reduced As solubility and availability through the formation of amorphous iron oxides, while organic matter did not seem to mobilize As. At the same time, copper fractionation was strongly affected by soil pH and organic matter addition. The soil pH significantly influenced both As and Cu mobility. Within all the amendments tested, FeSO 4 in combination with compost showed to be the most suitable treatment for the overall remediation process, as it reduced As and Cu availability andenhanced soil nutrient concentrations and plant growth. In sipte of contradictory trends between chemical analyses and ecotoxicity tests, we can still conclude that the application of organic amendments in combination with reactive iron salts is a suitable approach for the remediation of soils contaminated by Cu and As., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Biochar microparticles were prepared from three different types of biochar, derived from waste materials, such as pine wood (BC-PW), pig manure (BC-PM) and cardboard (BC-PD) under various pyrolysis conditions. The microparticles were prepared by dry grinding and sequential sieving through various ASTM sieves. Particle size and specific surface area were analyzed using laser particle size analyzer. The particles were further characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The adsorption capacity of each class of adsorbent was determined by methylene blue adsorption tests in comparison with commercially available activated carbon. Experimental results showed that dye adsorption increased with initial concentration of the adsorbate and biochar dosage. Biochar microparticles prepared from different sources exhibited improvement in adsorption capacity (7.8±0.5 mg g(-1) to 25±1.3 mg g(-1)) in comparison with raw biochar and commercially available activated carbon. The adsorption capacity varied with source material and method of production of biochar. The maximum adsorption capacity was 25 mg g(-1) for BC-PM microparticles at 25°C for an adsorbate concentration of 500 mg L(-1) in comparison with 48.30±3.6 mg g(-1) for activated carbon. The equilibrium adsorption data were best described by Langmuir model for BC-PM and BC-PD and Freundlich model for BC-PW., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The utilization of agricultural waste to create value-added goods has benefited waste management while resolving cost-effectiveness and food shortage problems. Returning biochar produced from agricultural waste to the agricultural field is a sustainable method of enhancing crop production while lowering the environmental effect of typical fertilizers. It also enhances soil condition by modulating pH, soil organic carbon, water retention capacity, and soil ion exchange potential. The current work concentrated on the production of iron oxide-loaded biochar from banana peels. Pyrolysis was carried out at temperatures ranging from 400 to 500 °C. The co-precipitation technique was utilized to impregnate Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles on biochar, and it showed to be an effective and trustworthy method. Loading was done in situ. Characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR, CHNS, and TGA were employed to characterize synthesized materials. Swelling ratio, water retention, absorbance, and equilibrium water content percentage were used to study the adsorption capabilities of Fe 3 O 4 -loaded biochar, soil, and raw biochar. As a consequence, Fe 3 O 4 -enriched biochar was shown to have better adsorption capability than raw biochar, which in turn showed better adsorption properties than soil. Iron-loaded biochar was employed as a fertilizer in Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra), and the results showed that it is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly fertilizer., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

For the serious situation of heavy metal pollution, the use of cheap, clean, and efficient biochar to immobilize heavy metals is a good treatment method. In this paper, SA@ZIF-8/BC was prepared for the adsorption of Pb 2+ in solution using sodium alginate (SA) and zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) modified corn cob biochar. The results showed that the specific surface area of modified biochar was greatly improved, with good adsorption capacity for Pb 2+ , strong anti-interference ability, and good economy. At the optimal adsorption pH of 5, the adsorption model of Pb 2+ by SA@ZIF-8/BC was more consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. This indicates that the adsorption of Pb 2+ by SA@ZIF-8/BC is chemisorption and monolayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption of modified biochar was 300 mg g -1 , which was 2.38 times higher than that of before modified BC (126 mg g -1 ). The shift in binding energy of functional groups before and after adsorption of SA@ZIF-8/BC was studied by XPS, and it was found that hydroxyl and carboxyl groups played an important role in the adsorption of Pb 2+ . It was demonstrated that this novel adsorbent can be effectively used for the treatment of Pb pollution in wastewater., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Biochar (BC) was used to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from soil and water phases, and BC modification changed the sorption behavior of pollutants. Microplastics are emerging pollutants in the soil and water phases. Whether microplastics can affect the sorption of TCE by modified BC is not clear. Thus, batch sorption kinetics and isotherm experiments were conducted to elucidate the sorption of TCE on BC, and BC combined with polyethylene (PE) or polystyrene (PS). The results showed that HCl and NaOH modification increased TCE sorption on BC, while HNO 3 modification inhibited TCE sorption on BC. When PE/PS and BC coexisted, the TCE sorption capacity decreased significantly on BC-CK + PE, BC-HCl + PE, BC-HNO 3 + PE, BC-NaOH + PE, and BC-NaOH + PS, which was likely due to the preferential sorption of PE/PS on BC samples. We concluded that microplastics can change TCE sorption behavior and inhibit TCE sorption on BC samples. Thus, the interaction of BC and microplastics should be considered when BC is used for TCE removal in soil and water remediation., Competing Interests: The authors declare there is no conflict., (© 2024 The Authors This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).)

The presence of heavy metal ions in water environments has raised significant concerns, necessitating practical solutions for their complete removal. In this study, a combination of adsorption and electrocoagulation (ADS + EC) techniques was introduced as an efficient approach for removing high concentrations of nickel ions (Ni 2+ ) from aqueous solutions, employing low-cost sunflower seed shell biochar (SSSB). The combined techniques demonstrated superior removal efficiency compared to individual methods. The synthesized SSSB was characterized using SEM, FT-IR, XRD, N 2 -adsorption-desorption isotherms, XPS, and TEM. Batch processes were optimized by investigating pH, adsorbent dosage, initial nickel concentration, electrode effects, and current density. An aluminum (Al) electrode electrocoagulated particles and removed residual Ni 2+ after adsorption. Kinetic and isotherm models examined Ni 2+ adsorption and electrocoagulation coupling with SSSB-based adsorbent. The results indicated that the kinetic data fit well with a pseudo-second-order model, while the experimental equilibrium adsorption data conformed to a Langmuir isotherm under optimized conditions. The maximum adsorption capacity of the activated sunflower seed shell was determined to be 44.247 mg.g -1 . The highest nickel ion removal efficiency of 99.98% was observed at initial pH values of 6.0 for ADS and 4.0 for ADS/EC; initial Ni 2+ concentrations of 30.0 mg/L and 1.5 g/L of SSSB; initial current densities of 0.59 mA/cm 2 and 1.32 kWh/m 3 were also found to be optimal. The mechanisms involved in the removal of Ni 2+ from wastewater were also examined in this research. These findings suggest that the adsorption-assisted electrocoagulation technique has a remarkable capacity for the cost-effective removal of heavy metals from various wastewater sources., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The zero-valent iron magnetic biochar composites (ZVI-MBC) were synthesized from the paper mill sludge biochar and used for the treatment of the synthetic and real effluent containing pentachlorophenol (PCP). During the synthesis of ZVI-MBC, NaBH4 was used as the reducing agent to reduce Fe(II) to Fe(0) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was added as surfactant. The effect of the molar ratio of FeSO4 to NaBH4, dose of the surfactant and the ZVI to biochar ratio on the PCP removal efficiency was investigated. It was found that the ZVI-MBC combines the advantages of biochar and ZVI particles for the simultaneous adsorption and dechlorination of PCP in the effluent and the complete removal of PCP was obtained. The ageing tests showed that biochar prevents the formation of oxide film on the ZVI particles and leaching tests confirmed the stability of ZVI on biochar matrix as very low iron leaching was noticed., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)