Kaetzl Korbinian, Riegel Marcel, Joseph Ben, Ossenbrink Ronja, Gerber Helmut, Gwenzi Willis, Morck Tobias, Laner David, Heinrich Thomas, Kromrey Volker, Friedrich Kevin, Wachendorf Michael, Stenchly Kathrin
Section of Grassland Science and Renewable Plant Resources, University of Kassel, Steinstraße 19, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
Section Concepts for Supply Structures and Technology, TZW: DVGW Technologiezentrum Wasser, Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Environ Sci Ecotechnol. 2025 Jun 6;26:100588. doi: 10.1016/j.ese.2025.100588. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Activated carbons (ACs) are widely used in advanced wastewater treatment to remove organic micropollutants (OMPs), including pharmaceuticals, that evade conventional biological processes. Yet, fossil coal-based ACs generate substantial CO emissions and conflict with circular-bioeconomy objectives. Here, we address the critical research gap in sustainable sorbent development by evaluating biogenic ACs produced from underutilized grassland biomass. Using a pretreatment to enrich carbon content and reduce minerals, we generated biogenic ACs from wet meadow (WET) and orchard meadow residues and compared them to Norit SAE Super and PULSORB WP 235 in batch adsorption tests. Despite its higher mineral and ash contents and lower specific surface area than conventional ACs, 100 %-activated WET (WET100) combined balanced micro- and mesoporosity-yielding heterogeneous adsorption sites that conform to Freundlich isotherms-and achieved 50 % OMP removal at a dosage of ∼13 mg L, on par with Norit SAE Super (∼12 mg L). Strong correlations between OMP removal and ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UVA254; R > 0.95) validate UVA254 as a rapid monitoring proxy. Greenhouse gas footprint analyses revealed that substituting coal-based AC with WET100 reduces gate-to-grave emissions by approximately 2.4 t COe per tonne of sorbent-translating to potential savings of up to 94 % COe when deployed at scale for advanced OMP removal. These findings underscore that biogenic ACs can be seamlessly integrated into existing treatment infrastructure, valorize underutilized grassland biomass, align with circular-economy and EU sustainability objectives, and deliver substantial greenhouse-gas savings compared to coal-based adsorbents.
活性炭（ACs）广泛应用于深度废水处理，以去除有机微污染物（OMPs），包括那些无法通过传统生物处理工艺去除的药物。然而，基于化石煤的活性炭会产生大量的碳排放，与循环生物经济目标相悖。在此，我们通过评估利用未充分利用的草地生物质生产的生物活性炭，来填补可持续吸附剂开发方面的关键研究空白。通过预处理来提高碳含量并减少矿物质，我们从湿地草甸（WET）和果园草甸残留物中制备了生物活性炭，并在批量吸附试验中将它们与Norit SAE Super和PULSORB WP 235进行了比较。尽管与传统活性炭相比，其矿物质和灰分含量更高，比表面积更低，但100%活化的WET（WET100）具有平衡的微孔和介孔结构，产生符合弗伦德利希等温线的非均相吸附位点，在剂量约为13 mg/L时实现了50%的OMP去除率，与Norit SAE Super（约12 mg/L）相当。OMP去除率与254 nm处的紫外线吸光度（UVA254；R>0.95）之间的强相关性验证了UVA254可作为一种快速监测指标。温室气体足迹分析表明，用WET100替代煤基活性炭可使每吨吸附剂的从摇篮到坟墓的排放量减少约2.4 t COe，按比例扩大用于深度OMP去除时，潜在的COe节省量高达94%。这些发现强调，生物活性炭可以无缝集成到现有的处理基础设施中，使未充分利用的草地生物质增值，符合循环经济和欧盟可持续发展目标，并且与煤基吸附剂相比可大幅节省温室气体排放。
