Interaction of Lead and Calcium with Biochar Produced from Cassava Waste: Perspectives for Agricultural and Environmental Application

Abstract

Biochar from slow pyrolysis under controlled conditions is favorable in the transformation of waste into materials that serve as soil conditioners, and/or environmental remediation. Thus, this work aimed to produce and characterize biochar from cassava waste under different temperature conditions and evaluate interactions with Ca2+ and Pb2+ for agricultural and environmental applications. To investigate the efficiency of the interaction of biochar with nutrients (Ca) and contaminants (Pb), the influence of pH and contact time were evaluated. There was an increase in pH, pHzpc (zero point charge), and condensed aromatic structures in BC, due to the increase in pyrolysis temperature. Also, biochar demonstrated a Pb2+ adsorbed amount of 2.03 to 2.37 mg g–1 and a Ca2+ release capacity of 0.655 to 0.765 mg g–1. In this way, biochar produced from residues of cassava waste can be a viable strategy to enhance agricultural production and reduce environmental contaminants.