Investigation of Sewage Sludge–Derived Biochar for Enhanced Pollutant Adsorption: Effect of Particle Size and Alkali Treatment

Andy Kofi Agoe, Stavros G. Poulopoulos, Yerbol Sarbassov and Dhawal Shah ()
Additional contact information
Andy Kofi Agoe: Chemical and Material Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Stavros G. Poulopoulos: Chemical and Material Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Yerbol Sarbassov: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Dhawal Shah: Chemical and Material Engineering Department, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: Sewage sludge (SS) holds promise for environmental, agricultural, and energy applications. However, its direct use is limited due to contaminant concerns. Pyrolysis can turn SS into beneficial products like bio-oil and biochar. This study explores biochar production from SS pyrolysis and its potential for pollutant adsorption. The effects of pyrolysis temperature (500, 650, 850 °C) and SS particle size (800–1000 µm, 400–800 µm, 100–400 µm, ≤100 µm) on biochar yield and adsorption capacity for methylene blue and mercury were investigated. Regardless of particle size and temperature, SS-derived biochar exhibited second-order adsorption kinetics. Biochar with a particle size of 100–400 µm displayed the highest potential for methylene blue adsorption. Subsequent alkali treatment (biochar:NaOH = 3:4) of these particles significantly increased specific surface area from 27.5 m 2 /g to 144.27 m 2 /g and further enhanced adsorption capacities for both methylene blue (from 9 mg/g to 35 mg/g) and mercury (from 17 mg/g to 36 mg/g). These findings suggest that SS-derived biochar, particularly the 100–400 µm fraction with alkali treatment, presents a promising cost-effective adsorbent for water treatment, aligning with circular economy principles.

Keywords: municipal sewage sludge; pyrolysis; adsorption; biochar; methylene blue; mercury (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/18/4554/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/18/4554/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:18:p:4554-:d:1475933

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().