2020 Faculty Research Poster Session and Research Fair
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Browsing 2020 Faculty Research Poster Session and Research Fair by Author "Bhattacharia, Sanjoy K."
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Item Absorption Water Treatment Potential of Crop-Waste Biochar Made by Controlled and Uncontrolled Pyrolysis: An Investigation into Converting Biowaste to Bioresource for the Developing World(WTAMU Cornette Library, 2020-03-05) Pimentel, Andy; Bhattacharia, Sanjoy K.; Howell, NathanAccess to clean water is an issue that persists in many developing countries. Available water is often polluted from inadequately treated agricultural, industrial, and human wastes. There are many ways to address environmental challenges for polluted water including source water protection, altering the use patterns of water, and treating heavily polluted water sources before they mix with other, cleaner waters. Employing water protection and water treatment strategies in developing world contexts in particular is often challenging due to a lack of financial resources, industrial infrastructure, and technical know-how. One approach to bridge the gap between the developed “well resourced” world and the developing “limited resource” world is to make use of materials readily available, even waste materials, to treat water and minimize solid and hazardous waste generation. Biochar is such an application of this approach. It is a microporous, carbon-rich adsorbent material that can be made from any virtually any kind of waste biomass or other waste organic material. Since many developing world communities are highly agrarian, people in those communities have access to a large amount of crop and animal waste which can be used as biochar feedstock. In our study, we made crop-waste (rice hull, pecan shell, cottonseed) biochar using temperature-controlled pyrolysis in a muffle furnace (MF) reminiscent of the kinds of high technology, high resource process in the developed world. We contrast that with biochars made from a simple and easily built top-lift updraft (TLUD) pyrolysis process that would not be difficult for developing world communities to appropriate in their local context with biomass they have on hand. We looked specifically at the contrasting abilities of these two types of biochar, MF and TLUD, to adsorb cationic and anion colored dyes in water through controlled shaking experiments. Quantitative examination of the amount of dye that can be removed, on different biochar, and at differing pH helped to discern the mechanism of adsorptive interaction on the biochars. We then relate the way the biochar was made, in light of the material from which it was made, to the adsorptive performance we saw in the dyes. These comparisons provide fundamental understanding into the nature of ionic pollutant surface interactions on biochars. This understanding can be used to design treatment processes for industrial, sanitary, storm-, and agricultural wastewater in both developing and developed worlds.Item Preparation and Characterization of Crop-Waste Biochars(WTAMU Cornette Library, 2020-03-05) Pimentel, Andy; Bhattacharia, Sanjoy K.; Howell, NathanBiochar is a carbon-rich and porous material; it is produced through the pyrolysis of waste biomass. This material is capable of adsorbing chemical constituents from water, air, or other media. This capability has allowed it to become an alternative water filtration option potentially comparable to activated carbon. Raw biomass crop waste including cotton hull, pecan shell, and rice husk were converted to biochar through Top-Lifted Updraft (TLUD) and Muffle Furnace (MF) pyrolysis processes. The material properties of these biochars have been characterized through the use of XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC, SEM, and BET surface area analytical tools. The analyses reveal the physical and chemical characteristics of the raw materials and biochar. XRD analysis of the raw materials and biochars shows that these materials are noncrystalline (amorphous). FTIR analysis shows the presence of O-H, C-H, C-C, CH2, C-H, and C-O-C functional groups in the cellulose structure of the raw material; this ensures that an oxidizer is present in the cellulose structure of these raw materials. The crop waste biochar predominantly contain the C-O-C functional groups. TGA and DSC analyses show that raw materials and biochars undergo pyrolysis at around 260°C and 340°C, respectively. This indicates a higher thermal stability of biochar and a greater availability of oxidizer in the raw materials. The raw crop wastes undergoes pyrolysis at lower temperatures than biochar. SEM images show the porous structure in biochar while the BET surface analysis reveals the pore size distribution. The presence of a porous structure and active functional groups in biochar makes them an excellent candidate as a filter and membrane for the removal of pollutants from water. The fact that a quality biochar sorbent, as shown in this can study, can be made from commonly found crop waste by inexpensive, simple pyrolysis techniques demonstrates its usefulness in many environmental and chemical process applications.