Abstract
Pharmaceuticals and pesticides are common contaminants in water bodies worldwide,posing significant threats to the environment and to human and animals’ lives. Traditionalwastewater treatment processes often struggle to effectively remove these complex pollutants,imposing the examining of alternative treatments strategies. CWs have been developed asa low-cost and green technology to improve water quality as tertiary treatment but still failin removing completely some micropollutants. Coupling adsorbent materials to CWs mayrepresent a good solution, bringing a final polishing step. For that, biochar, a carbonaceousmaterial derived from biomass pyrolysis, has appeared as a promising approach for contam-inant removal due to its high adsorption capacity, surface area, and porosity.The project SAFE aims to enhance water quality by implementing a cost-effective, natural-based solution capable of being reused for agricultural crop irrigation. Thus, this studyfocuses on a comprehensive evaluation of a specific biochar’s properties, emphasizing itsabilities in adsorbing and desorbing pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Seven pharmaceuticals(sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, clarithromycin, clindamycin, azithromycin, venlafaxine,and metoprolol) and one pesticide (fipronil) were selected for this study using a methodol-ogy based on four criteria (occurrence, persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity, OPBT)expressed in terms of concentrations in the secondary effluent. The characterization phase ofthis study results in analyzing the selected biochar to determine its adsorption and desorptionproperties regarding targeted compounds. This research assesses the retention capacity ofeach compound through adsorption tests and examines saturation through desorption teststo determine equilibrium points within the biochar. Furthermore, it connects them withregeneration studies employing oxidants (e.g., peroxymonosulfate), using synthetic wastew-ater and distilled water as model systems, to evaluate the biochar’s efficacy in removing andreleasing contaminants. The experiments investigate the influence of factors such as initialconcentration, contact time, on adsorption and desorption equilibrium.