The sorption of sulfamethoxazole on biochars derived from a sediment with high organic matter content

Abstract

Sediment samples with high organic carbon contents (22.04 and 8.46%) were collected and thermally treated using a method analogous to biochar production. The obtained thermally treated sediments (TTSs) showed a much higher degree of carbon capture in comparison to biochar derived from common biomass, indicating potential use of TTSs in soil amendment and carbon sequestration. Their sorption with organic contaminants was also investigated using sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as a model sorbate. SMX sorption increased greatly with pyrolytic temperature. Desorption ratio of the adsorbed SMX in TTSs generally decreased with increased pyrolytic temperature and with decreased solid-phase concentrations.