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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Assessment of Waste-Derived Biochars on the Health and Biological Activity of Soil
Published on: October 10, 2025
A novel hay-derived biochar for removal of tetracyclines in water
1Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering & Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center at Stephenville, Texas A&M University, USA.
Abstract:
The biochars derived from alfalfa (AF) and bermudagrass (BG), the abundant grass hays to cows, were prepared, characterized and used for removal of tetracycline (TC) in water. The alfalfa-derived biochar (AF-BC) has exhibited outstanding TC adsorption capacity (372 mg/g), which was about 8-fold higher than that of bermudagrass-derived biochar (BG-BC). In addition, the TC adsorption capacity of AF-BC was comparable with those of the commercial activated carbons under the same conditions. The surface structure, chemistry and high ash contents of AF-BC suggested the hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions and surface complexation between AF-BC and TC. Furthermore, hydroxyapatite (HAP; Ca5(PO4)3OH) and calcite (CaCO3) on the surface of AF-BC may also contribute to adsorption of TC via surface complexation, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. The alkaline desorption-driven regeneration of TC-spent AF-BC led to effective adsorption-desorption for multiple cycles, which indicated AF-BC could be a cost-effective adsorbent for TC in water and wastewater.
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