The ratio of H/C is a useful parameter to predict adsorption of the herbicide metolachlor to biochars.

Biochar adsorbent was produced by pyrolyzing traditional Chinese medicinal herb residue at 300, 500 and 750 °C (referred to as biochar-300, biochar-500 and biochar-750). Basic physical and chemical analyses, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and thermodynamic analyses were performed to elucidate adsorption and properties of biochar. Biochar adsorption capacity of herbicide metolochlor, as measured by batch-type adsorption experiments by Freundlich constant Kf (mg1-n Ln kg-1), followed the order: biochar-750 > biochar-300 > biochar-500. Thermodynamic analysis suggested that adsorption of metolachlor on biochar was a spontaneous process. The adsorption isotherm for the biochar produced at the highest pyrolysis temperature was characteristic for adsorption process driven by a high surface area of biochar (85.30 m2 g-1), while the adsorption process for the biochar produced at the lowest temperature was controlled by its higher content of organic matter (39.06%) and abundant functional groups. The FT-IR spectra also showed that the biochar prepared at the lowest temperature had the highest number of surface groups. In general, pore-filling induced by the large surface area of the biochar was the dominant adsorption mechanism. When the H/C value was >0.5, the adsorption mechanism of biochar was dominated by surface chemical bond, while pore-filling played a major role when the H/C value was <0.5.