"Nanotechnology and nanomaterials"

Investigation of sorption capacity of biochars obtained from organic waste materials
Zięzio M.1, Charmas B.1, Kucio K.1
1 Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, Maria Curie -Sklodowska University. Maria Curie-Sklodowska Sq. 3, 20-031 Lublin, Poland. 
E-mail: magdalena.ziezio@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl

The current increase in urbanization results in an increasing number of factories producing large amounts of wastewaters characterized by various physicochemical compositions. A special type of industrial wastewater is colored wastewater originating from the textile, tanning or paper industry. Synthetic dyes contained in such wastewater pose a serious threat to organisms found in aquatic ecosystems. They limit the light penetration in water reservoirs and thus inhibit the photosynthesis process. Dyes are also dangerous for human health due to their strong carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. For this reason, much attention is paid to the processes of removing this type of toxic organic compounds from wastewaters [1].
In general, synthetic dyes are resistant to biodegradation. Biological methods used to remove this type of pollution are often inefficient and can change the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. That is why physicochemical methods, e.g. coagulation or chemical precipitation are increasingly used.
Currently, one of the effective methods for dyes removal is their adsorption. The most commonly used sorbents include biochars which have a highly developed specific surface area, pore structure and a high degree of reactivity. In recent years biochars produced from organic waste materials have attracted much attention. Using waste materials not only one can get cheap adsorbents from widely available low cost precursors but also reduce the amount of solid wastes.
The aim of the research was to evaluate the adsorption capacity of biochars made from spent coffee grounds by chemical activation with H3PO4. Methylene blue was used as an organic model impurity. Based on the research it was found that the applied biochars are characterized by high sorption capacity and they could be used as adsorbents for colourful substances removal.

1.	Khan R., Bhawana P., Fulekar M.H. Microbial decolorization and degradation of synthetic dyes: a review//Rev Environ Sci Bio.-2013.-12.-P.75-97