Fabrication of Mg-Doped Sargassum Biochar for Phosphate and Ammonium Recovery

Biochars prepared from macro-algae have a lower C/N ratio compared to lignocellulosic biochar, which is advantageous for direct nutrition. In particular, Sargassum, a marine macro-algae, has a high Mg content; hence, it can be expected to adsorb P and N simultaneously. In this study, Sargassum horneri biochar (SB), pyrolyzed at 400, 500, and 600 °C, was doped with innate Mg through water leaching, and nutrient recovery from the wastewater-mimicking solution was confirmed. The biochar pyrolyzed at 600 °C showed maximum Mg adsorption during water leaching, and the efficiency of K and Na removal was also high, at 92.7% and 91.9%, respectively. The addition of MgCl2 during pyrolysis and high ion exchange did not show distinct advantages for surface modification and nutrient adsorption. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed the participation of biochar in the surface adsorption of Mg and PO4 recovery. The PO4 sorption capacity of biochar reached >120 mg·g−1, while the sorption capacity for NH4 was low, at 22.8–28.2 mg·g−1, suggesting that Mg-surface-doped SB presented excellent phosphorus recovery. Hence, upgrading an adsorbent as a wastewater-treatment material and soil ameliorant that recovers nutrients using innate Mg from Sargassum is possible through appropriate surface modification.