The Eco-Friendly Biochar and Valuable Bio-Oil from Caragana korshinskii: Pyrolysis Preparation, Characterization, and Adsorption Applications

Carbonization of biomass can prepare carbon materials with excellent properties. In order to explore the comprehensive utilization and recycling of Caragana korshinskii biomass, 15 kinds of Caragana korshinskii biochar (CB) were prepared by controlling the oxygen-limited pyrolysis process. Moreover, we pay attention to the dynamic changes of microstructure of CB and the by-products. The physicochemical properties of CB were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), BET-specific surface area (BET-SSA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The optimal preparation technology was evaluated by batch adsorption application experiment of NO3−, and the pyrolysis mechanism was explored. The results showed that the pyrolysis temperature is the most important factor in the properties of CB. With the increase of temperature, the content of C, pH, mesoporous structure, BET-SSA of CB increased, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) decreased and then increased, but the yield and the content of O and N decreased. The CEC, pH, and BET-SSA of CB under each pyrolysis process were 16.64–81.4 cmol·kg−1, 6.65–8.99, and 13.52–133.49 m2·g−1, respectively. CB contains abundant functional groups and mesoporous structure. As the pyrolysis temperature and time increases, the bond valence structure of C 1s, Ca 2p, and O 1s is more stable, and the phase structure of CaCO3 is more obvious, where the aromaticity increases, and the polarity decreases. The CB prepared at 650 °C for 3 h presented the best adsorption performance, and the maximum theoretical adsorption capacity for NO3− reached 120.65 mg·g−1. The Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model can well describe the isothermal and kinetics adsorption process of NO3−, respectively. Compared with other cellulose and lignin-based biomass materials, CB showed efficient adsorption performance of NO3− without complicated modification condition. The by-products contain bio-soil and tail gas, which are potential source of liquid fuel and chemical raw materials. Especially, the bio-oil of CB contains α-d-glucopyranose, which can be used in medical tests and medicines.