Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 19;10(27):200902.
doi: 10.5696/2156-9614-10.27.200902. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Review of Biochar Properties and Remediation of Metal Pollution of Water and Soil

Abudu Ballu Duwiejuah  1   2 , Abdul Halim Abubakari  3 , Albert Kojo Quainoo  2 , Yakubu Amadu  3
Affiliations
Review

Review of Biochar Properties and Remediation of Metal Pollution of Water and Soil

Abudu Ballu Duwiejuah et al. J Health Pollut. .

Abstract

Background: Mining, waste disposal, and agrochemical residues have contributed to pollution of water and soil with toxic metals in most low- and middle-income countries, raising concerns of ecological safety and public health. This has prompted many studies into the production and utilization of biochars to adsorb toxic metal contaminants from soil and water.

Objective: The present study presents a review of biochar properties, the mechanisms of toxic metal adsorption onto biochar, and sorption of toxic metal contaminants in water and soil in small scale applications and laboratory experiments.

Methods: A total of 305 articles were collected, and after screening for relevance, a final of 164 articles from both high- and low- and middle-income countries were used in this review paper.

Discussion: Biochar for sorption has proven effective and its raw materials are readily available, cost effective, environmentally stable and a good form of waste management.

Conclusions: Different techniques of biochar production influence the properties of biochar and adsorption of toxic metals from water and soil.

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Keywords: biochar properties; pyrolysis; remediation; soil and water environment; toxic metal contaminants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram indicating the number of articles, books and reports that were identified, screened, and included in the current review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Beesley L, Moreno-Jimenez E, Gomez-Eyles JL, Harris E, Robinson B, Sizmur T. A review of biochars' potential role in the remediation, revegetation and restoration of contaminated soils. Environ Pollut [Internet] 2011 Dec;159(12):3269–82. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.07.023. [cited 2020 Apr 8] Available from: Subscription required to view. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen X, Chen G, Chen L, Chen Y, Lehmann J, McBride MB, Hay AG. Adsorption of copper and zinc by biochars produced from pyrolysis of hardwood and corn straw in aqueous solution. Bioresour Technol [Internet] 2011 Oct;102(19):8877–84. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.06.078. [cited 2020 Apr 8] Available from: Subscription required to view. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Salo E. [Jyväskylä, Finland]: Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics; 2018. Current state and future perspectives of biochar applications in Finland [master's thesis] p. 56. p.
    1. Cao X, Ma L, Gao B, Harris W. Dairy manure-derived biochar effectively sorbs lead and atrazine. Environ Sci Technol [Internet] 2009;43(9):3285–91. doi: 10.1021/es803092k. [cited 2020 Apr 8] Available from: Subscription required to view. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Uchimiya M, Lima IM, Thomas Klasson K, Chang S, Wartelle LH, Rodgers JE. Immobilization of heavy metal ions (CuII, CdII, NiII, and PbII) by broiler litter-derived biochars in water and soil. J Agric Food Chem [Internet] 2010;58(9):5538–44. doi: 10.1021/jf9044217. [cited 2020 Apr 8] Available from: Subscription required to view. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources