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Pyrochar–AgBr (DCG–AgBr) produced from discarded chewing gum for the decontamination of trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) is reported. The DCG–AgBr specific surface area (249.5 m2/g), the pore volume of 0.998 cm3/g, surface functional groups and thermal analysis were established. The 2,4,5-TCP removal efficiency at 10 mg/L was estimated to be ∼96% and the dynamic behavior was successfully described by the Thomas and Yoon–Nelson models. Based on the economic analysis, the total cost for treatment of 2,4,5-TCP simulated wastewater was 14.39 US$/m3. For the first time, commonly discarded chewing gum was employed as a precursor for fabrication of adsorbents for wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of banana peel as a sustainable and low-cost precursor for the fabrication of effective biochar was exploited. Here, calcined magnetic biochar (CMB) was fabricated and characterized. CMB possesses surface acidic functional groups (–OH and COO−), porous structures, high saturation magnetization (39.55 emu/g), and larger surface area than the non-magnetic biochar (CB). The CMB adsorption performance (72.8, 75.9, and 83.4 mg/g for Zn2+, Cu2+, and Hg2+, respectively at pH 6) in a single component was described suitably by pseudo-second order kinetic model, Langmuir, and Redlich-Peterson adsorption isotherms. Notably, the selectivity factor values in the extended Langmuir isotherm indicated that CMB has higher adsorption affinity toward Hg2+ than Cu2+ and Zn2+ in the multi-component system. Owing to its high adsorption efficiency and fast and easy separation, the calcined magnetic biochar is considered promising and effective for the purification of heavy metal–bearing wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]