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.
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- Locking up carbon for good: Easthampton inventor’s CO2 removal system turns biomass into biochar
Like many people, Michael Garjian believes global warming is a pressing issue of our times.Unlike most, he’s putting his ideas for reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into practice — and at the ...
- New process quickly transforms livestock manure into biochar
A technology has been developed to quickly convert livestock manure, a significant issue in animal farming, into valuable "black gold" rich in carbon within a day.
- First-Ever Great Plains Biochar Conference to Debut in Lincoln, NE
The inaugural event is set for Sept. 24 to Sept. 26, hosted by UN-L, the Nebraska Biochar Initiative, and the Nebraska Forest Service.
- Tech aims to turn burn piles into profits for tree fruit growers
If growers forgo burning in favor of chipping old trees and then contract those chips to be converted into carbon-rich biochar, that practice could be worth $350 per acre in the current voluntary ...
- An ancient farming technique is finding new life burying carbon and improving soil
Nick Cuchetti, a farmer and board secretary of Missouri Organic Association, applies biochar to his soil beds late last month at Oaklee Rose Farm in Luebbering. BioChar, an organic waste material that ...
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- Cocaine is an emerging contaminant of concern in the Bay of Santos (Brazil), says researcher
In addition to already known pollutants, the Bay of Santos—a city in the state of São Paulo (Brazil) that is home to the largest seaport in Latin America—has been affected by an emerging contaminant ...
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Daunting headlines about long Covid, climate change and obesity confront us daily but we're missing a thread that connects them all and makes each of these chronic conditions worse: our extraordinary ...
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In past decades, the cost of treating emerging contaminants, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, was handled similarly. These added treatment costs will ultimately be passed on to the residents and ...
- JABADS 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 ...
- New Contaminants, Food Testing & More: analytica Convention 2024 Focuses on Vietnam's Laboratory Needs
In anticipation of the biennial analytica Vietnam Exhibition scheduled for 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, the analytica Convention 2024 emerges to bridge the gap year, offering an alternative platform for ...
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