Desenvolvimento de biochars multifuncionais obtidos por pirólise de resíduos para tratamento de efluentes complexos e potencial aplicação agrícola

The increasing generation of waste, combined with the need for sustainable technologies for water and wastewater treatment, requires solutions that integrate waste valorization, circular economy principles, and resource recovery. In this context, biochar stands out as a promising material capable of converting diverse waste biomasses into high-value products with environmental and agricultural applications. The feedstock, pyrolysis conditions, and modification processes strongly influence its properties. This project aims to develop biochars from different waste materials and their blends using various pyrolysis conditions and chemical pretreatments. The resulting materials will be characterized in terms of their physicochemical and surface properties, thereby establishing relationships among the feedstock, the production process, biochar characteristics, and performance. The environmental safety of the produced biochars will also be assessed by investigating the release of potentially toxic compounds. The biochars will be applied for nutrient removal and recovery from treated domestic wastewater, aiming to produce controlled-release bio-based fertilizers, as well as for the treatment of complex effluents, including oil industry produced water and landfill leachate, targeting the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and emerging contaminants. In addition, their potential to concentrate PFAS from dilute solutions and environmental matrices will be investigated to facilitate subsequent destruction processes. The results will provide insights into adsorption mechanisms and critical performance parameters, while supporting the development of a comprehensive database that integrates feedstock, production conditions, functionalization, properties, and applications. This database will serve as the foundation for future artificial intelligence models designed to guide the development and selection of tailored biochars for specific applications.