Characterization of valorized pinewood sawdust to engineered activated biochar.

Abstract

The implementation of conventional waste management such as incineration and disposal of agricultural and forestry wastes leading to the environmental pollution. The mistreatment of biomass, which commonly produced from the cultivation of agricultural crops and harvesting, has contributed to large amounts of waste. The bio-mass wastes are valuable resources with a promising property to be used in various environmental remediation applications, such as pinewood sawdust (PWS) is a well-known valuable feedstock for biochar production due to rich in carbon composition. This study explores the valorization of PWS to engineered activated biochar as an effective biosorbent. The development of honeycomb-like tubular biochar synthesized from pinewood sawdust (PWS/HT-B(s)) was prepared by the impregnation with metal salts (ZnCl2) at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 M, then carbonized at 800 ºC for 6 h. The physicochemical and morphology characterization results of the PWS/HT-B(s) were compared and analyzed by FTIR and SEM&EDS. The PWS treated with 1.0 M exhibited superior and more stable honeycomb-like structure, constructed from high amounts of tubular structure, and larger porosity. Functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, served as electron donors with receptive effects, were further confirmed through the FTIR spectra. This study addressed the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) that could be achieved by the application of biochar for various environmental remediation applications.