Heavy Metal Adsorption Using Biocarbón from Agricultural and Agro-industrial Waste for Decontamination of Soils and Water Sources

Abstract

Currently, the presence of heavy metals in different ecosystems represents a serious threat to humanity and animals, since they are considered persistent, bioaccumulative and difficult to degrade, and for their removal, physicochemical methods such as adsorption have been widely studied. On the other hand, the accumulation of waste from the agricultural and agro-industrial sector has become an important environmental problem and a way has been sought to take advantage of these resources by producing an adsorbent material such as Biochar, which is organic carbon, used to decontamination of soils and aquatic habitats. Although the removal efficiency of this material is lower than that of activated carbon, it is considered a low-cost and sustainable alternative, which has recently attracted a lot of research attention due to its wide application prospects. Based on recent studies, the main characteristics of biochar were reviewed, factors that influence its behavior, as well as its application in decontamination through the removal of heavy metals in water and soil. In this review, high percentages of heavy metal removal efficiencies, modern adsorption methods were found, as well as the different properties and factors of the biosorbent such as surface area, pH, temperature, pressure, among others, that influence the performance of the mat