Invasive plants compete with native plants, poison livestock and shrink the land available for agriculture. Lantana camara L. (hereafter Lantana) is amongst the ten worst invasive species worldwide having invaded 75 countries. Approximately 303,607 km2 of forest lands and 132,000 km2 of pasture lands are under threat by Lantana in India. As such, this woody shrub has a huge potential to serve as a feedstock for biochar preparation. Biochar is known for its applications in water decontamination, soil amendment and carbon sequestration. In the present study, Lantana was slow pyrolyzed at 700 °C. The developed Lantana biochar (LB700) was used for aqueous acetaminophen removal. Surface morphology, elemental composition, mineral crystalline phases and functional groups were identified to characterize LB700. Optimum pH of 5 and biochar dose of 1 g/L dose were used in kinetic and equilibrium sorption experiments. Sorption data was fitted to kinetic and isotherm models. pH studies were carried out in the range of 2-10. Acetaminophen (pKa = 9.38) being weakly acidic occurs mostly in neutral form in aqueous solutions. At pH 8.4, the surface charge of LB700 (pHpzc of 8.4) is positive. This results into various interactions. π- π stacking and H-bonding played major roles in sorption versus electrostatic interactions. Langmuir adsorption capacity of 12.1 mg/g at 25 °C was achieved. The voluminous drug use from the current pandemic leaves higher discharges of pharmaceuticals into surface and ground waters. Its behavior in aqueous systems and toxicity to human health mostly remains elusive. Water remediation of emerging contaminants is therefore urgent. Biochar derived from Lantana may be considered for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water.

Sorptive acetaminophen removal from water using Lantana camara L. (invasive weed) biochar

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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