Microalgal biochar assisted simultaneous removal of particulate matter, formaldehyde, and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC's) from indoor air.

Autor: Kumar R; Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India. Electronic address: Rahul.Kumar@rdat.iitd.ac.in., Dalvi V; Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India. Electronic address: dalvi.vivek11@gmail.com., Pant KK; Catalytic Reaction Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India; Current Affiliation: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667, India. Electronic address: kkpant@chemical.iitd.ac.in., Malik A; Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India; Present Affiliation: Fulbright-Kalam (Climate) Academic & Professional Excellence Scholar, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, NJ, USA. Electronic address: anushree@rdat.iitd.ac.in.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Chemosphere [Chemosphere] 2024 May; Vol. 355, pp. 141866. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 31.
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.141866
Abstrakt: Biochar-based materials for air treatment have gained significant attention for removing health-detrimental volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) in indoor air settings. However, high turnaround time, multiple pretreatment processes involved, and high pore size and low surface area (>10 μm, <100 m 2  g -1 ) of lignocellulosic feedstocks demand alternative biochar feedstock material. Considering this, we designed a simple first-of-its-kind indoor air scrubbing material using diatoms-enriched microalgae biochar. In the present study, the microalgae were cultivated on waste anaerobic digestate (biogas slurry) and were pyrolyzed at three different temperatures: 300 °C (BC300), 500 °C (BC500), and 700 °C (BC700). The BC500 and BC700 showed the highest removal efficiencies (99 %) for total volatile organic carbons (TVOCs) and formaldehyde (HCHO) at concentrations of 1.22 mg m -3 HCHO and 8.57 mg m -3 TVOC compared to 50% efficiency obtained with commercially available surgical, cloth, and N95 masks. The biochar obtained showed a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 238 m 2  g -1 (BC500) and 480 m 2  g -1 (BC700) and an average pore size of 9-11 nm due to the mesoporous characteristic of diatom frustules. The comparatively poor performance of BC300 was due to lower surface area (150 m 2  g -1 ) arising from incomplete organic removal, as evidenced by FESEM-EDX and FTIR. The high removal efficiencies in BC500 and BC700 were also attributed to the presence of reactive functional groups such as -OH and R-NH 2. Concurrently, the average particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1) removal efficiency for BC500 and BC 700 ranged between 66 and 82.69 %. The PM removal performance of BC500 and BC700 was lower (15-20%) than commercially available masks. Overall, the present study highlights the importance of diatoms (reactive Si) present inside the pores of microalgal biochar for enhanced removal of PM, TVOCs, and HCHO at temperatures above 500 °C. This complete approach signifies a step towards establishing a self-sustainable and circular process characterized by minimal waste generation for indoor air treatment.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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