Exploring temple floral refuse for biochar production as a closed loop perspective for environmental management

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Waste Management

Background:

• Religious activities generate substantial floral waste, posing environmental challenges due to high organic content.
• Existing methods like natural dye extraction leave nutrient-rich solid residues requiring management.
• Floral waste represents a potential resource for biochemical and thermo-chemical conversion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the thermo-chemical decomposition of solid residue from temple floral waste post-dye extraction.
• To evaluate the characteristics and potential applications of the resulting biochar.
• To explore the efficacy of biochar as an adsorbent for methylene blue dye removal.

Main Methods:

• Slow pyrolysis of floral solid residue at 350°C and 500°C.
• Characterization of biochar using TGA-DTG, FTIR, SEM, EDX, BET, XRD, and RAMAN spectroscopy.
• Adsorption studies of methylene blue dye using biochar prepared at 500°C under varying conditions.

Main Results:

• Biochar yields of 42% and 36% were achieved at 350°C and 500°C, respectively.
• EDX analysis confirmed the presence of essential macro-nutrients (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg), indicating soil amelioration potential.
• Biochar produced at 500°C demonstrated significant methylene blue dye adsorption capacity, fitting Langmuir and Freundlich models.

Conclusions:

• Thermo-chemical conversion of floral dye residue into biochar offers an efficient waste management solution.
• The produced biochar possesses properties suitable for soil amendment and water purification.
• This closed-loop approach transforms problematic floral waste into valuable resources.