Irradiated fig pomace pyrochar as a promising and sustainable sterilized sorbent for water pollutant removal

Abstract

Irradiated fig pomace pyrochar (IrrPyrFP) is noteworthy as a novel sterilized low-cost sorbent of BTEX, pesticides, and Pb2+ ions. It was produced by applying pyrolysis treatment followed by gamma irradiation modification in order to obtain a highly efficient and sterile sorbent. The characterization of fig pomace before and after pyrolysis, as well as before and after irradiation of the obtained pyrochar, was done using SEM, FTIR, and elemental analysis, while its sorption ability was tested through the removal of examined pollutants by batch sorption experiments. The obtained results suggest that IrrPyrFP could play a significant role in the control of environmental pollutants, as indicated by the maximum adsorption capacities: 42 mg g−1 for BTEX, 0.625 mg g−1 for malathion, 0.495 mg g−1 for chlorpyrifos and 255 mg g−1 for Pb2+. A kinetic study showed that the removal process by IrrPyrFP mainly follows pseudo 2nd kinetics order, while the sorption equilibriums were estimated using the Langmuir and Freundlich model. Overall, the findings of this work suggest that pyrolysis and activation by irradiation of waste biomass is a promising way to produce sterile efficient sorbents for waste-water treatment based on green chemistry. Additionally, the demonstrated application of fig pomace promotes the potential of using this biomass for continual and economical waste management in the rising fig industry.