As global population growth and urbanization accelerate, challenges such as waste management, agricultural pollution, and climate change have become increasingly severe. Traditional wastewater treatment technologies struggle to address emerging contaminants like heavy metals and pharmaceutical residues, while conventional industrial and agricultural practices exacerbate soil degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. There is an urgent need for sustainable technologies that can enhance agricultural productivity while simultaneously addressing pollution control, carbon sequestration, and waste valorization. Can a novel material fulfill the dual demands of efficient wastewater purification and renewable energy generation?
In an article has published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2024592), Gasim Hayder, Associate Professor at the University of Nizwa in Oman, and Dr. Rosli Muhammad Naim from the National Energy University of Malaysia propose that biochar-based nanocomposites (BNCs)—created by integrating nanotechnology with biomass pyrolysis—offer an innovative solution to this challenge.
BNCs are synthesized from waste biomass such as rice husks, straw, and livestock manure. The raw materials undergo pyrolysis at 350–800 °C under oxygen-limited conditions to produce biochar, which is then loaded with nanomaterials through metal salt impregnation or plasma treatment. Research demonstrates the material’s exceptional performance in wastewater treatment: surface hydroxyl and carboxyl groups adsorb lead and cadmium via complexation, achieving removal rates of 98.6% and 99.2%, respectively; nano-pores capture dyes and antibiotics through π–π interactions; TiO₂-modified BNCs catalyze the degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants under UV light.
For renewable energy generation, pyrolysis byproducts like syngas can directly generate electricity or synthesize biofuels, with biochar boasting a calorific value of 25–30 MJ/kg. BNCs’ high conductivity and porous structure make them suitable for supercapacitor electrodes and microbial fuel cells, enabling simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation. Economically, BNCs cost approximately $150 per ton—only 15%–30% of commercial activated carbon—and each ton of converted waste biomass sequesters 0.8 tons of CO₂. After 5–8 reuse cycles, BNCs retain 80% adsorption capacity, directly supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 6 (clean water), SDG 7 (clean energy), and SDG 13 (climate action).
With technological advancements and policy support, BNCs are poised to become mainstream in wastewater treatment and renewable energy sectors within five years, driving the global transition to a circular economy—transforming environmental crises into resource opportunities.
DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2024592