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Fungal fermented cottonseed husk-derived biochar for highly efficient sulfanilamide degradation: active site regulation and nonradical pathways

Lookup NU author(s): Professor David WernerORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© 2025 Elsevier Ltd. The catalytic efficacy of biochar is significantly influenced by the biomass feedstocks. To produce active, environmentally friendly and cost-effective biochar, in this study, cottonseed hull biomass was subjected to 80 days of fungal fermentation pretreatment. Enzymes secreted during fungal fermentation effectively deconstructed the plant structure, yielding a biochar precursor with enhanced porosity and optimal catalytic properties. The enzymes secreted by fungi-fermentation were used to break down the plant structure, resulting in a biochar precursor with well-developed porosity and optimal catalytic chemical characteristics. Under high annealing temperature, the resulting biochar derived from the fermentation residues (CSH-BC80–800) retained the overall structure of its precursor, but with favorable graphitization degree and optimized C=O/C-O ratio, favorable reactive sites and faster electron transfer rate. Radical quenching tests and electron spin resonance characterization revealed that SA degradation was predominantly driven by non-radical pathways, such as singlet oxygen oxidation and direct electron transfer. Kinetic studies revealed that the CSH-BC80–800/PMS system achieved an 84.8 % degradation efficiency in 120 min, reflecting a 43.9 % increase over the removal of SA in the pristine biochar system. This research not only synthesized a highly functionalized catalyst through microbial regulation and pyrolysis but also established a pathway for developing functionalized biochar precursors.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Xu T, Xiong Y, Du J, Werner D, Faheem M, Peng L, Quan S, Hu Z, Xu F, Bao J

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Water Process Engineering

Year: 2025

Volume: 76

Print publication date: 01/08/2025

Online publication date: 17/06/2025

Acceptance date: 10/06/2025

Date deposited: 30/07/2025

ISSN (electronic): 2214-7144

Publisher: Elsevier BV

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108147

DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.108147

ePrints DOI: 10.57711/msvf-gk16

Data Access Statement: Data will be made available on request.

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