BIOCHAR

H2O2 generation by 2-electron oxygen electroreduction reaction (2eORR) has attracted great attention as an alternative to the industry-dominant anthraquinone process. Electro-Fenton (EF) process, which relies on the H2O2 electrogeneration, is regarded as an important environmental application of H2O2 generation by 2eORR. However, its application is hindered by the relatively expensive electrode materials. Proposing cathode materials with low cost and facile synthetic procedures are the priority to advance the EF process. In this work, a composite cathode structure that uses graphitic granular bamboo-based biochar (GB) and stainless steel (SS) mesh (GBSS) is proposed, where SS mesh functions as current distributor and GB supports synergistic H2O2 electrogeneration and activation. The graphitic carbon makes GB conductive and the oxygen-containing groups serve as active sites for H2O2 production. 11.3 mg/L H2O2 was produced from 2.0 g GB at 50 mA after 50 min under neutral pH without external O2/air supply. The O-doped biochar further increased the H2O2 yield to 18.3 mg/L under same conditions. The GBSS electrode is also effective for H2O2 activation to generate ·OH, especially under neutral pH. Ultimately, a neutral Fe-free EF process enabled by GBSS cathode is effective for removal of various model organic pollutants (reactive blue 19, orange II, 4-nitrophenol) within 120 min, and for their partial mineralization (48.4% to 63.5%). Long-term stability of the GBSS electrode for H2O2 electrogeneration, H2O2 activation, and pollutants degradation were also examined and analyzed. This work offers a promising application for biomass waste for removals of organic pollutants in neutral Fe-free EF process.

Biochar is a carbonaceous porousmaterial deliberately applied to soil to improve its fertility. Themechanisms through which biochar
acts on fertility are still poorly understood. The effect of biochar texture size on water dynamics was investigated here in order
to provide information to address future research on nutrient mobility towards plant roots as biochar is applied as soil
amendment. A poplar biochar has been stainless steel fractionated in three different textured fractions (1.0–2.0mm, 0.3–
1.0mm and <0.3mm, respectively). Water-saturated fractions were analyzed by fast field cycling (FFC) NMR relaxometry. Results
proved that 3D exchange between bound and bulk water predominantly occurred in the coarsest fraction. However, as porosity
decreased, water motion was mainly associated to a restricted 2D diffusion among the surface-site pores and the bulk-site ones.
The X-ray μ-CT imaging analyses on the dry fractions revealed the lowest surface/volume ratio for the coarsest fraction, thereby
corroborating the 3D water exchange mechanism hypothesized by FFC NMR relaxometry. However, multi-micrometer porosity
was evidenced in all the samples. The latter finding suggested that the 3D exchange mechanism cannot even be neglected in
the finest fraction as previously excluded only on the basis of NMR relaxometry results. X-ray μ-CT imaging showed heterogeneous
distribution of inorganic materials inside all the fractions. The mineral components may contribute to the water relaxation
mechanisms by FFC NMR relaxometry. Further studies are needed to understand the role of the inorganic particles on water dynamics.

Background and Objectives: Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a global concern because of its adverse effects on ecosystem health and food security. Soil amendments including biochar can reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals in contaminated soils and reduce their risk of entering the food chain. Biochar is a carbon-rich material obtained by pyrolysis of biomass, such as agricultural residues and manures under conditions with little or no oxygen. Recent studies have shown that biochar also has great potential for immobilizing heavy metals in soil, because of its highly porous structure, active functional groups, and generally high pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC). In the country, most of the studies on biochar are related to calcareous soils or aqueous solutions and biochar has received little attention as an efficient adsorbent for the adsorption of heavy metals in acidic soils. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of biochar derived from carrot pulp on properties of acidic soil and adsorption of lead and cadmium in soil.

Materials and Methods: In this study, biochar derived from carrot pulp was produced through pyrolysis at 550 °C with a heating rate of 25 °C min-1. Carrot pulp biochar was added to acidic soil at 0, 4 and 8% application rates and was incubated for 60 days. After the incubation period, to investigate the effects of time on Cd and Pb adsorption, 25 mL of 400 mg L−1 of Cd and Pb were added to 1gr of soil samples, and then samples were shaken for different times (4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36 and 40 h). Then, the concentration of Cd and Pb were measured. The results were fitted to pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich kinetic models. To determine the adsorption isotherms of Cd and Pb, 25 mL of heavy metals solution with concentrations ranging from 0 to 400 mg L−1 were added to 1gr of soil samples, and then samples were shaken for 24 h, and finally the adsorption data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models.

Results: The application of biochar significantly increased the pH, cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity of the soil, although the 8% application rate more effective than the 4% application rate in increasing the pH, cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity of the soil. The results of fitting the data to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models showed that Cd and Pb adsorption on the control soil and soil treated with biochar matches with the Langmuir isotherm model. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was introduced as the best kinetic model of adsorption of Cd and Pb. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cd and Pb increased from 647.25 mg kg-1 and 855.71 mg kg-1 (in control soil) to 2078.29 mg kg-1 and 3182.72 mg kg-1 (in soil treated with 8% biochar), respectively.

Conclusion: This study showed that carrot pulp biochar increased the adsorption of Cd and Pb in acidic soil by increasing the pH and cationic exchange capacity of the soil. Therefore, carrot pulp biochar can be used as an effective and inexpensive adsorbent to improve acidic soil properties and increase the adsorption of Cd and Pb in soil.

Biomass pyrolysis is a promising renewable sustainable source of fuels and petrochemical substitutes. It may help in compensating the progressive consumption of fossil-fuel reserves. The present article outlines biomass pyrolysis. Various types of biomass used for pyrolysis are encompassed, e.g., wood, agricultural residues, sewage. Categories of pyrolysis are outlined, e.g., flash, fast, and slow. Emphasis is laid on current and future trends in biomass pyrolysis, e.g., microwave pyrolysis, solar pyrolysis, plasma pyrolysis, hydrogen production via biomass pyrolysis, co-pyrolysis of biomass with synthetic polymers and sewage, selective preparation of high-valued chemicals, pyrolysis of exotic biomass (coffee grounds and cotton shells), comparison between algal and terrestrial biomass pyrolysis. Specific future prospects are investigated, e.g., preparation of supercapacitor biochar materials by one-pot one-step pyrolysis of biomass with other ingredients, and fabricating metallic catalysts embedded on biochar for removal of environmental contaminants. The authors predict that combining solar pyrolysis with hydrogen production would be the eco-friendliest and most energetically feasible process in the future. Since hydrogen is an ideal clean fuel, this process may share in limiting climate changes due to CO 2 emissions.
Keywords Sustainable and renewable energy source; Fossil-fuel alternatives; Biomass pyrolysis; Biofuel (bio-oil, biogas, biochar); Charcoal (activated carbon); Hydrogen fuel

Climate change, food crisis, energy generation and environmental pollution are among the greatest threats and challenges faced by mankind today. Biochar production from various biomass sources has gained a lot of interests since its addition to degraded agricultural soils not only improve soil fertility and biomass yield, but also mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. There are enormous amounts of oil palm biomass generated along with the main palm oil production streams. A lot of research has been carried out to convert oil palm biomass into value-added products, but none except biochar has come close to be labeled as carbon negative products. In this paper, a review about production and application potential of biochar from oil palm biomass in Malaysia is given. Besides, some of the challenges in promoting biochar production and application, such as nature of the feedstocks, economic and logistical factors and market acceptance are highlighted as well. Producing biochar from oil palm biomass can potentially lead to a healthier environmental, societal and economic growth for the oil palm industry specifically, and enhances sustainability in worldwide context.

Today, despite that Mexico has great potential for electricity generation from renewable energy sources, the use of these has been very low. Until December 2013, Mexico had 14 891 MW of installed power generation capacity from renewable sources, including large hydro, which represented about a quarter of the total power generation capacity in the country. With regard to the energy source biomass, it contributed 4% of renewable energy, ie 661 MWe, less than 1% of 59 564 MWe of installed capacity (Ministry of Economy, 2014, p. 1). Furthermore, in 2012 the primary energy consumption in Mexico was 187.7 million tons of oil equivalent (1 Tep = 41 868 000 000 J or 11 630 kWh), 2 Mtoe were of renewables, about 1 % (British Petroleum, 2013, pp. 40, 41). Added to this situation, the lack of regulation that promotes production, distribution and use of energy from renewable sources also limits the expectation of development in the country, as well as the waste of renewable energies in general and biomass mainly .

In view of the above, the regulations governing international level and its interface with the existing regulations in Mexico is analyzed. Mexican Official Standard NOM-086-SEMARNAT-SENER-SCFI-2005 Specifications fossil fuels for environmental protection, (SEMARNAT SCFI SENER, 2006) stable guidelines for the use of fossil fuels, excluding fuel we call organic, so it is necessary to build a regulatory framework for the use of fuels of vegetable or animal origin.

This paper proposes the infrastructure and standards necessary for the production of fuels generated from biomass academically, looking with it the integral formation of students Energy Program UACM.

Because the regulatory framework in the energy sector in Mexico refers to the ASTM standards, it decided to use the latter as a basis for the development of this work to have the same patterns of technical reference.

This work follows the lack of laboratories, workshops and special facilities for the Masters in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, in particular a Bioenergéticas Applications Laboratory for biodiesel, which could serve as a platform for the establishment of PhD in Energy, with emphasis on Bioenergy.

The use of biochar has been suggested as a means of remediating contaminated soil and water. The
practical applications of conventional biochar for contaminant immobilization and removal however
need further improvements. Hence, recent attention has focused on modification of biochar with novel
structures and surface properties in order to improve its remediation efficacy and environmental benefits.
Engineered/designer biochars are commonly used terms to indicate application-oriented, outcomebased
biochar modification or synthesis. In recent years, biochar modifications involving various
methods such as, acid treatment, base treatment, amination, surfactant modification, impregnation of
mineral sorbents, steam activation and magnetic modification have been widely studied. This review
summarizes and evaluates biochar modification methods, corresponding mechanisms, and their benefits
for contaminant management in soil and water. Applicability and performance of modification methods
depend on the type of contaminants (i.e., inorganic/organic, anionic/cationic, hydrophilic/hydrophobic,
polar/non-polar), environmental conditions, remediation goals, and land use purpose. In general,modification to produce engineered/designer biochar is likely to enhance the sorption capacity of biochar
and its potential applications for environmental remediation.