Lead researcher Marlena Ndoun, a doctoral student in Penn State’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, samples water in central Pennsylvania’s Spring Creek for emerging contaminants.
IMAGE: PENN STATE
Biochar — a charcoal-like substance made primarily from agricultural waste products — holds promise for removing emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater.
That’s the conclusion of a team of researchers that conducted a novel study that evaluated and compared the ability of biochar derived from two common leftover agricultural materials — cotton gin waste and guayule bagasse — to adsorb three common pharmaceutical compounds from an aqueous solution. In adsorption, one material, like a pharmaceutical compound, sticks to the surface of another, like the solid biochar particle. Conversely, in absorption, one material is taken internally into another; for example, a sponge absorbs water.
Guayule, a shrub that grows in the arid Southwest, provided the waste for one of the biochars tested in the research. More properly called Parthenium argentatum, it has been cultivated as a source of rubber and latex. The plant is chopped to the ground and its branches mashed up to extract the latex. The dry, pulpy, fibrous residue that remains after stalks are crushed to extract the latex is called bagasse.
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Biochar
- Biochar is finding new life improving soil and burying carbon
This is biochar — a soil amendment and a hot topic in sustainable agriculture. As Cuchetti pours the biochar onto his farmer’s market vegetable beds, you can hear what makes this substance special. It ...
- Moreau's Moratorium: What’s next for Biochar and the state of business
In addition to future project approvals, the moratorium prohibits the commencement of any business or commercial operation which would dispose of or process any waste material through incineration, ...
- Supporting Nigerian farmers by transforming food waste into valuable material
Academics from Teesside University are collaborating with counterparts in Nigeria on a groundbreaking project to turn food waste into a valuable material used to restore the environment and remove ...
- Biochar is the Natural Charcoal Product that Could Revolutionize Tomorrow’s Cities
Indigenous Amazonians historically used biochar as part of Terra Preta de Indio, a porous topsoil that retains nutrients and water. Today, its usage has expanded beyond soil remediation and ...
- Opposition rejects Biochar's assertions on EPA guidance
Groups opposed to the construction of a Saratoga Biochar Solutions carbon-fertilizer plant in the Town of Moreau are speaking out after assertions were made by ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Biochar
[google_news title=”” keyword=”biochar” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Emerging contaminants
- New Contaminants, Food Testing & More: Analytica Convention 2024 Focuses On Vietnam's Laboratory Needs
New Contaminants, Food Testing & More: analytica Convention 2024 Focuses on Vietnam's Laboratory Needs HANOI, Vietnam, Apr 23, 202 ...
- JBADS helps air base guard against germs — and a lot more
“JBADS provides our military with a unique and safe solution to decontaminate an aircraft to protect our warfighters and support the mission,” says Steve Richards, VP of Government Programs and JBADS ...
- Revived UCSD center to study ocean and human health
The Scripps Center for Oceans and Human Health brings together experts from Scripps Oceanography, UCSD’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and School of Biological Sciences, and ...
- Study finds high microplastic levels in Mediterranean fish despite low chemical contaminants
Researchers in a recent study published in the journal Foods discovered high levels of microplastics in popular Mediterranean fish species, despite low levels of cadmium and antibiotics, highlighting ...
- City of Bloomington Utilities will continue to test for PFAS
The City of Bloomington Utilities will continue testing for PFAS in the wake of a new regulation from the EPA.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Emerging contaminants
[google_news title=”” keyword=”emerging contaminants” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]