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Updated: Jun 23, 2025

Physical, Chemical and Biological Characterization of Six Biochars Produced for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites
Published on: November 28, 2014
A complete review on the oxygen-containing functional groups of biochar: Formation mechanisms, detection methods,
Jiefeng Chen1, Junhui Zhou1, Wei Zheng1
1School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083, China.
Abstract:
Biochar is a porous carbon material generated by the thermal treatment of biomass under anaerobic or anoxic conditions with wealthy Oxygen-containing functional groups (OCFGs). To date, OCFGs of biochar have been extensively studied for their significant utility in pollutant removal, catalysis, capacitive applications, etc. This review adopted a whole system philosophy and systematically summarizes up-to-date knowledge of formation, detection methods, engineering, and application for OCFGs. The formation mechanisms and detection methods of OCFGs, as well as the relationships between OCFGs and pyrolysis conditions (such as feedstocks, temperature, atmosphere, and heating rate), were discussed in detail. The review also summarized strategies and mechanisms for the oxidation of biochar to afford OCFGs, with the performances and mechanisms of OCFGs in the various application fields (environmental remediation, catalytic biorefinery, and electrode material) being highlighted. In the end, the future research direction of biochar OCFGs was put forward.
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