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<p>Water pollution from dyes and heavy metal ions poses risks to human health and the environment. Biomass waste offers a low-cost, eco-friendly platform for developing adsorbents with suitable physicochemical properties; however, integration with advanced material design and scalability assessment remains limited, as studies often focus on adsorption performance, hindering practical implementation. In this study, pristine biochar (PrBC), biochar/Fe₃O₄ (BC-Fe), and biochar/ZnO (BC-Zn) derived from <i>Ricinus communis</i> pod waste were prepared and comprehensively characterized (FTIR, UV–vis, XRD, SEM-EDS, TGA, gas adsorption, and cyclic voltammetry). Adsorption performance, dose and concentration effects, and removal mechanisms for methylene blue (MB) and Cr(VI) were evaluated. At 100 ppm, MB adsorption was 18.8 (PrBC), 28.3 (BC-Fe), and 35.6 mg g− 1 (BC-Zn); BC-Zn performed best. Cr(VI) adsorption reached 3.1, 4.3, and 6.3 mg g− 1 for PrBC, BC-Fe, and BC-Zn; all showed &gt; 98% removal at 25 ppm. At 10 ppm, MB removal was 100% for all; at 100 ppm, BC-Zn exceeded 61% removal. To assess scalability, a techno-economic analysis using SuperPro Designer® showed that up to 1,300 batches/year of BC-Fe or BC-Zn can be produced, by implementing a 6.0 h minimum cycle time. The estimated unit production cost ranged from 98 to 244 USD/Kg for BC-Zn and 130 to 363 USD/kg for BC-Fe. The minimum selling price was 152–438 USD/kg (BC-Zn) and 126–340 USD/Kg (BC-Fe). Both processes exhibited gross margins above 21% and average payback periods of 3.4 years, with an initial investment of $8–20 million USD. Overall, this study integrates sustainable feedstock valorization, advanced material design, and techno-economic evaluation, demonstrating technical and economic feasibility, and providing a framework for scalable deployment of biochar-based nanocomposites in wastewater treatment within a circular economy.</p>

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Efficient removal of aqueous methylene blue and Cr(VI) by biochar/Fe3O4-ZnO composites derived from Ricinus communis waste: Performance evaluation and techno-economic assessment

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月11日

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  • Verónica del Angel Hernández,
  • Alberto Ordaz,
  • Susana Figueroa-Gerstenmaier,
  • Thomas Fellowes,
  • Samuel Harding,
  • Isaiah Borne,
  • Edgar Vázquez-Núñez

摘要

Water pollution from dyes and heavy metal ions poses risks to human health and the environment. Biomass waste offers a low-cost, eco-friendly platform for developing adsorbents with suitable physicochemical properties; however, integration with advanced material design and scalability assessment remains limited, as studies often focus on adsorption performance, hindering practical implementation. In this study, pristine biochar (PrBC), biochar/Fe₃O₄ (BC-Fe), and biochar/ZnO (BC-Zn) derived from Ricinus communis pod waste were prepared and comprehensively characterized (FTIR, UV–vis, XRD, SEM-EDS, TGA, gas adsorption, and cyclic voltammetry). Adsorption performance, dose and concentration effects, and removal mechanisms for methylene blue (MB) and Cr(VI) were evaluated. At 100 ppm, MB adsorption was 18.8 (PrBC), 28.3 (BC-Fe), and 35.6 mg g− 1 (BC-Zn); BC-Zn performed best. Cr(VI) adsorption reached 3.1, 4.3, and 6.3 mg g− 1 for PrBC, BC-Fe, and BC-Zn; all showed > 98% removal at 25 ppm. At 10 ppm, MB removal was 100% for all; at 100 ppm, BC-Zn exceeded 61% removal. To assess scalability, a techno-economic analysis using SuperPro Designer® showed that up to 1,300 batches/year of BC-Fe or BC-Zn can be produced, by implementing a 6.0 h minimum cycle time. The estimated unit production cost ranged from 98 to 244 USD/Kg for BC-Zn and 130 to 363 USD/kg for BC-Fe. The minimum selling price was 152–438 USD/kg (BC-Zn) and 126–340 USD/Kg (BC-Fe). Both processes exhibited gross margins above 21% and average payback periods of 3.4 years, with an initial investment of $8–20 million USD. Overall, this study integrates sustainable feedstock valorization, advanced material design, and techno-economic evaluation, demonstrating technical and economic feasibility, and providing a framework for scalable deployment of biochar-based nanocomposites in wastewater treatment within a circular economy.