Preparation of biochar from Enteromorpha prolifera and its use for the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from aqueous solution

EP-biochar was produced from Enteromorpha prolifera (EP) at temperatures of 200-600 °C under limited-oxygen conditions and then activated using HCl and HF. To optimize the sorption of pyrene (PYR) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), the effect of the pyrolysis temperature was studied, and the results showed that EP-biochar produced at 500 °C gave the highest removal efficiency. The physiochemical properties of EP-biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C were characterized. The examination indicated that the surface area of EP-biochar was 205.32 m2/g. The effect of the EP-biochar dosage and initial solution pH on the adsorption were studied in batch adsorption experiments. Kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption processes of PYR and BaP agreed well with a pseudo second-order kinetic model. The sorption equilibrium data were well described by the Langmuir model. Desorption experiments were conducted to test the strength of binding interactions of EP-biochar. The results showed that PYR and BaP were difficult to dissolve in water after adsorption. Regeneration experiments demonstrated that the biochars regenerated at 200 °C retained approximately 48% and 40% of their initial PYR and BaP uptake.