Bioponic systems with biochar: Insights into nutrient recovery, heavy metal reduction, and microbial interactions in digestate-based bioponics.

Bioponics is a nutrient-recovery technology that transforms nutrient-rich organic waste into plant biomass/bioproducts. Integrating biochar with digestate from anaerobic wastewater treatment process can improve resource recovery while mitigating heavy metal contamination. The overarching goal of this study was to investigate the application of biochar in digestate-based bioponics, focusing on its efficacy in nutrient recovery and heavy metal removal, while also exploring the microbial community dynamics. In this study, biochar was applied at 50 % w/w with 500 g dry weight of digestate during two 28-day crop cycles (uncontrolled pH and pH 5.5) using white stem pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) as a model crop. The results showed that the digestate provided sufficient phosphorus and nitrogen, supporting plant growth. Biochar amendment improved plant yield and phosphate solubilization and reduced nitrogen loss, especially at the pH 5.5. Furthermore, biochar reduced the heavy metal accumulation in plants, while concentrating these metals in the residual sludge. However, owing to potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks, it is still not recommended to directly consume plants cultivated in digestate-based bioponic systems. Additionally, biochar amendment exhibited pronounced impact on the microbial community, promoting microbes responsible for nutrient solubilization and cycling (e.g., Tetrasphaera, Herpetosiphon, Hyphomicrobium, and Pseudorhodoplanes) and heavy metal stabilization (e.g., Leptolinea, Fonticella, Romboutsia, and Desulfurispora) in both the residual sludge and plants. Overall, the addition of biochar enhanced the microbial community and facilitated the metal stabilization and the cycling of nutrients within both residual sludge and root systems, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the bioponics.

Modified air-Fenton with MIL-88A for chemical oxygen demand treatment in used coolant oil.

Coolant oil from auto part manufacturing contains additives resulting in high chemical oxygen demand (COD) in wastewater. In this study, COD treatment of coolant oil was investigated in a metal-organic framework (MOF) with MIL-88A by a modified air-Fenton (MAF) process by varying synthetic coolant oil concentrations (1-5%), pH (3-9), air-flow rate (1-2 L/min), amount of MIL-88A (0.2-1.0 g), and reaction time (30-180 min). The results were analyzed using central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) using Minitab ver. 19. The characteristic MIL-88A was characterized by XRD that showed a spindle-like shape with 2θ at 10.2° and 13.0°. The FTIR spectrum revealed the vibrational frequencies at Fe-O (564 cm-1), C-O (1391 and 1600 cm-1), and C = O (1216 and 1710 cm-1). The optimum treatment efficiency was studied from 30 CCD conditions in the presence of coolant oil (5%, COD ~ 132,000 mg/L), pH (9), air flow rate (2 L/min), and MIL-88A (1 g) within 177 min. The results obtained from the experiment and the COD prediction were found to be 92.64% and 93.45%, respectively. The main mechanism of iron(III) in MIL-88A is proposed to be the production of hydroxyl radical (·OH) that oxidizes the organic matter in the coolant oil. Moreover, the MAF process was applied to the used industrial coolant oil and was found to be 62.59% efficient.