Sugarcane biochar as novel catalyst for highly efficient oxidative removal of organic compounds in water

Cost effective and environmental friendly biochar catalyst (SugBC900) with high catalytic activity toward peroxymonosulfate (PMS) was prepared by simple pyrolysis of sugarcane waste, and utilized for efficient degradation of organic pollutants. Taking advantages of high sp(2) hybrid carbon content, large surface area and excellent electron transfer ability, the SugBC900 coupled with PMS presented far greater catalytic degradation ability toward bisphenol A (BPA) as model pollutant when compared to the SugBC700, SugBC800 and other carbonaceous catalysts. The oxidative species of O-1(2) and O-2(center dot-) were demonstrated to be dominant for catalytic degradation, and the role of SO4 center dot- and (OH)-O-center dot was minor. 20 mg/mL of BPA could be completely degraded with less than 60 min at pHs of 5.0-11.0, and at temperatures of 25-45 degrees C. And at the extremely acidic (pH of 1.0) or low temperature (10 degrees C) conditions, the degradation efficiencies could still reach more than 90%. The SugBC900 was also successfully utilized for the efficiently catalytic degradation of BPA and other organic pollutants in various real environmental water. Because of simple preparation by impregnating none of external elements, extremely low cost property, and robustness characteristic by having broad working conditions, the SugBC900 would have potential to be a good alternative to the conventional catalysts.

Automated summary

The biochar catalyst SugBC900, prepared by pyrolysis of sugarcane waste, showed high catalytic activity for efficient degradation of organic pollutants, particularly bisphenol A, due to its high carbon content and exceptional performance. Under varied conditions, such as extreme acidity or low temperature environments, it maintains a high degradation efficiency for organic pollutants.