title: Characterizing Biochar as Alternative Sorbent for Oil Spill Remediation.
abstract: Biochar (BC) was characterized as a new carbonaceous material for the adsorption of toluene from water. The tested BC was produced from pine wood gasification, and its sorption ability was compared with that of more common carbonaceous materials such as activated carbon (AC). Both materials were characterized in terms of textural features and sorption abilities by kinetic and equilibrium tests. AC and BC showed high toluene removal from water. Kinetic tests demonstrated that BC is characterized by faster toluene removal than AC is. Textural features demonstrated that the porosity of AC is double that of BC. Nevertheless, equilibrium tests demonstrated that the sorption ability of BC is comparable with that of AC, so the materials' porosity is not the only parameter that drives toluene adsorption. The specific adsorption ability (mg sorbed m-2of surface) of the BC is higher than that of AC: toluene is more highly sorbed onto the biochar surface. Biochar is furthermore obtained from biomaterial thermally treated for making energy; this also makes the use of BC economically and environmentally convenient compared with AC, which, as a manufactured material, must be obtained in selected conditions for this type of application.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" Department of Chemistry, Rome, 00100, Italy.
authors.forename: Ludovica
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silvani
authors.affiliation: University of Chemistry and Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Praha, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Blanka
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vrchotova
authors.affiliation: Ecofuel, Ecofuel Laboratories, Praha, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kastanek
authors.affiliation: University of Chemistry and Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Praha, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Demnerova
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" Department of Chemistry, Rome, 00100, Italy.
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pettiti
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" Department of Chemistry, Rome, 00100, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco Petrangeli
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Papini