1. Remediation of Red Tide toxin by low-cost biochar.
- Author
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Chambers, Cadianne, Fire, Spencer, Lovko, Vince, and Reza, M. Toufiq
- Subjects
KARENIA brevis ,BIOCHAR ,FRESHWATER algae ,LOBLOLLY pine ,ENZYME-linked immunosorbent assay ,PHYSISORPTION ,FISH kills ,RED tide - Abstract
With frequent Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) events occurring destruction to marine ecosystems, and public health is of serious concern as microscopic algae lyze lethal toxins into freshwater and seawater. Karenia brevis also known as red tide has posed consistent threat to Florida waters such as Gulf of Mexico, and the southwestern coasts. Neurotoxin such as Brevetoxin are commonly produced from Karenia brevis, which causes fish kills, and distressing diarrhetic, neurologic, and respiratory symptoms. Thus, this upsurge adversely creates a negative impact on socioeconomic factors. Hence, to mitigate the dissolved Brevetoxin physical process such as adsorption using biochar presents as a highly efficient treatment technique at a low-cost. This study focuses on the efficiency of synthesized waste biomass (loblolly pine) derived biochar for adsorption of Brevetoxin (PbTx-3) at ambient conditions. Biochar was produced at pyrolysis temperatures of 400, 600 and 800 °C for 60 min to improve favorable adsorption properties (porosity, functionality, charge, etc.). As pyrolysis temperature is varied, observations on the material characterization were performed namely, Ultimate and Proximate analysis, Thermogravimetric analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, Boehm titration and Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Ultimately, dosage and equilibrium study were performed on PbTx-3 with biochar and commercial biochar (pine) as the control. Adsorption analysis of PbTx-3 were detected using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) analysis and high -performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Appropriately, possible adsorption mechanisms were responsible for the high uptake onto the biochar based on the available adsorption sites. Factors such as high surface porosity supported strong claims as one of the dominant factors influencing high removal of the PbTx-3 followed by surface oxygen containing functional groups and surface charge. Therefore, biochar presents as a valuable adsorbent material for HAB toxin mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023