Fabrication of self-N-doped porous biochar by synergistic pyrolysis activation for efficient tetracycline and CO2 adsorption

The development of green and economical adsorption materials with high pollutant adsorption performance is of great significance to meet environmental challenges. Herein, self N-doped porous carbon materials with excellent tetracycline and CO2 adsorption properties are successfully prepared by synergistic pyrolysis activation of corn stalk and Chlorella mixture. The addition of N-riched Chlorella significantly affects the nanopore and surface chemical structure of biochar, forming rich micro-mesopores, changing the intrinsic N doping form and surface oxygen-containing functional groups. An ultra-high tetracycline adsorption capacity of 1159.7 mg/g can be achieved by using the prepared KBC-3:1 as an adsorbent. A series of kinetic isothermal adsorption models, thermodynamic calculations, as well as comparative characterization analysis show that multiple adsorption mechanisms coexist. The pore filling of micro-mesopores (1.5-3 nm), it-it interactions of C--C bonds, H bonding interactions of C--O and the strong electrophilicity of pyrrolic N contribute to the excellent tetracycline adsorption performance of KBC-3:1. Furthermore, the material shows great resistance to cationic (K+, Mg2+, Cu2+) interference and excellent cycling performance. In addition, KBC-3:1 also exhibits excellent adsorption capacity for CO2, and the adsorption capacity of 5.21 mmol/g can be achieved at 273 K and 1 bar, which could be attributed to the synergistic activation effect leading to KBC-3:1 having the most abundant pyrrolic and pyridinic N species as well as the rich microporous structure. This work can provide guidance for the development of green and economical high performance carbon materials based on the intrinsic characteristics of biomass.