Performance analysis of hydrochar derived from catalytic hydrothermal carbonization in the multicomponent emerging contaminant systems: Selectivity and modeling studies

In this work, as an alternative to pyrochar, catalytic hydrothermal carbonization has been employed to synthesize hydrochar to eliminate emerging contaminants in multicomponent systems. The hydrochar has been synthesized using a single step catalytic hydrothermal carbonization at low temperature (200(degrees)C) without any secondary activation with high specific surface area and very good adsorption efficiency for the removal of emerging contaminants. The synthesized hydrochar (HC200) was characterized using various analytical techniques and found to have porous structure with 114.84 m(2).g(-1) of specific surface area and also contained various oxygen-containing functionalities. The maximum adsorption efficiencies of 92.4 %, 85.4 %, and 82 % were obtained for ibuprofen, sulfamethoxazole, and bisphenol A, respectively. Humic acid, a naturally occurring organic compound had a negligible effect on the adsorption of the selected contaminants. The hydrochar's selectivity towards the emerging contaminants in binary and ternary multicomponent systems was in the order of ibuprofen > sulfamethoxazole > bisphenol A.

Automated summary

In this study, catalytic hydrothermal carbonization was used to synthesize hydrochar as an alternative to pyrochar for the elimination of emerging contaminants in multicomponent systems. The synthesized hydrochar showed high specific surface area and excellent adsorption efficiency, making it a potential candidate for the removal of emerging contaminants.