Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste Biochar: Its Potential to be Used in Environmental Remediation

Pyrolysis is the foremost thermal conversion process that can be successfully used to transform biomaterials into a value-added product. The estimated biodegradable portion is prominent and denotes as 60% from total waste generation in Asian developing countries. There have been several studies on exploring the pyrolysis of complex organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) streams as a sustainable MSW management technique. The objective of this research was to evaluate physicochemical characteristics of MSW biochar (MSW-BC) produced from organic MSW to observe its potential for landfill contaminant removal with case studies from Sri Lanka. Biochar was pyrolyzed from the MSW in an onsite pyrolyzer. For physicochemical properties of biochar, pH, point of zero charge, electrical conductivity, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, heavy metal composition, bioavailable heavy metal composition and BET surface area were acquired. In addition, surface functional groups and structural identification were determined by FTIR analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, respectively. Adsorption capacities for the pollutants (benzene and toluene) were examined by batch sorption experiments. Furthermore, sorption isotherms were fitted using non-linear models for better understanding of the sorption capacities of the materials. Ultimate analysis data suggested high-temperature pyrolysis of MSW. Further, low values for both H/C and polarity index depict the strongly carbonized and highly aromatic structure in BC. Additionally, FTIR suggested a loss of labile, aliphatic compounds and functional groups during pyrolysis and the formation of more recalcitrant, aromatic constituents, whereas BET and SEM data revealed a well-developed porous structure and surface properties, which indicates MSW-BC to be a potential sorbent. Further, the reported total and bioavailable heavy metal content was low in MSW-BC; hence, it can be easily mixed with compost and used as a fertilizer. At the same time, MSW-BC will potentially be used to remediate heavy metals in the landfill leachate. Therefore, MSW-BC shows high potential to be used as a material to remediate contaminants simultaneously that minimizes MSW volume. Thus, conversion of MSW to BC and chemical and thermal modification of MSW-BC would allow effective engineering to optimize their properties as a potential material in landfill covers and permeable reactive barriers and integrate in leachate treatment techniques.