(44e) Evaluation of Pennycress Biochar for Adsorption of Nitrophenols from Water

Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is a winter cover crop that has been growing in popularity as a means to increase profitability for soybean farmers in the Midwestern United States. Pennycress seeds can be used to produce biodiesel and jet fuel. The oil extraction from the seeds leaves copious amounts of pressed cake. In this work, pennycress press cake was examined as a potential feedstock for biochar production that could be used as filter media for the separation of toxic organic compounds from drinking water. Pennycress pressed cake is carbonized to obtain pennycress biochar. The biochar is activated using hydrochloric acid and characterized for its elemental composition, surface area, surface functional moieties (FT-IR), crystallinity (XRD), and surface morphology (SEM). The biochar has a surface area of 283 m²/g and a bulk density of 1.84 g/cm³. The biochar is evaluated for adsorption of USEPA listed priority pollutants 2-, 3-, and 4-nitrophenols from the water. Results of equilibrium adsorption and column breakthrough studies will be presented. This study helps in assessing the overall use of pennycress plant products and the economic benefits of growing pennycress as a cover crop. The study also provides an option for treating drinking water as well as information for separation of isomeric mononitrophenols.