Ščasná Margita, Kucmanová Alexandra, Sirotiak Maroš, Blinová Lenka, Soldán Maroš, Hajzler Jan, Ďuriška Libor, Palcut Marián
Institute of Integrated Safety, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology, J. Bottu 25, 917 24 Trnava, Slovakia.
Materials Research Center, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 464/118, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Jul 18;18(14):3374. doi: 10.3390/ma18143374.
Carbonaceous sorbents were prepared from via hydrothermal carbonization (200 °C and 250 °C) and slow pyrolysis (300-500 °C) to assess their effectiveness in removing the herbicide metribuzin from water. The biomass was cultivated under controlled laboratory conditions, allowing for consistent feedstock quality and traceability throughout processing. Using a single microalgal feedstock for both thermal methods enabled a direct comparison of hydrochar and pyrochar properties and performance, eliminating variability associated with different feedstocks and allowing for a clearer assessment of the influence of thermal conversion pathways. While previous studies have examined algae-derived biochars for heavy metal adsorption, comprehensive comparisons targeting organic micropollutants, such as metribuzin, remain scarce. Moreover, few works have combined kinetic and isotherm modeling to evaluate the underlying adsorption mechanisms of both hydrochars and pyrochars produced from the same algal biomass. Therefore, the materials investigated in the present work were characterized using a combination of standard physicochemical and structural techniques (FTIR, SEM, BET, pH, ash content, and TOC). The kinetics of sorption were also studied. The results show better agreement with the pseudo-second-order model, consistent with chemisorption, except for the hydrochar produced at 250 °C, where physisorption provided a more accurate fit. Freundlich isotherms better described the equilibrium data, indicating heterogeneous adsorption. The hydrochar obtained at 200 °C reached the highest adsorption capacity, attributed to its intact cell structure and abundance of surface functional groups. The pyrochar produced at 500 °C exhibited the highest surface area (44.3 m/g) but a lower affinity for metribuzin due to the loss of polar functionalities during pyrolysis. This study presents a novel use of -derived carbon materials for metribuzin removal without chemical activation, which offers practical benefits, including simplified production, lower costs, and reduced chemical waste. The findings contribute to expanding the applicability of algae-based sorbents in water treatments, particularly where low-cost, energy-efficient materials are needed. This approach also supports the integration of carbon sequestration and wastewater remediation within a circular resource framework.
通过水热碳化（200℃和250℃）和慢速热解（300 - 500℃）从[具体原料未给出]制备了碳质吸附剂，以评估它们从水中去除除草剂嗪草酮的效果。生物质在受控的实验室条件下培养，以便在整个加工过程中保证原料质量一致且可追溯。两种热方法都使用单一微藻原料，能够直接比较水热炭和热解炭的性质及性能，消除了与不同原料相关的变异性，并能更清晰地评估热转化途径的影响。虽然先前的研究已经考察了藻类衍生生物炭对重金属的吸附，但针对有机微污染物（如嗪草酮）的全面比较仍然很少。此外，很少有研究将动力学和等温线模型结合起来评估由相同藻类生物质产生的水热炭和热解炭的潜在吸附机制。因此，本研究中所研究的材料使用了标准的物理化学和结构技术（傅里叶变换红外光谱、扫描电子显微镜、比表面积分析、pH值、灰分含量和总有机碳）进行表征。还研究了吸附动力学。结果表明，除了在250℃制备的水热炭符合物理吸附更准确外，其他结果与伪二级模型更吻合，这与化学吸附一致。弗伦德利希等温线能更好地描述平衡数据，表明存在非均相吸附。在200℃获得的水热炭达到了最高吸附容量，这归因于其完整的细胞结构和丰富的表面官能团。在500℃制备的热解炭表现出最高的比表面积（44.3 m²/g），但由于热解过程中极性官能团的损失，对嗪草酮的亲和力较低。本研究提出了一种新型的[具体原料未给出]衍生碳材料在不进行化学活化的情况下用于去除嗪草酮的方法，该方法具有实际益处，包括简化生产、降低成本和减少化学废物。这些发现有助于扩大藻类基吸附剂在水处理中的适用性，特别是在需要低成本、高能效材料的地方。这种方法还支持在循环资源框架内将碳封存和废水修复相结合。
