Biochar, a carbon-rich material produced by the pyrolysis of organic waste, has emerged as a low cost and sustainable material for several environmental applications including the enhancement of soil fertility and adsorption of heavy metals. This study evaluated and compared the potential of four plant-based biochars (wheat straw, pine straw, corn cob and parthenium biochars) for environmental applications by analyzing their physicochemical properties. The results showed that of all the analyzed biochars, parthenium biochar was found to be most effective in enhancing soil fertility as it contained the highest total organic carbon (79.50 %) and N contents (2.50 %). Moreover, the concentration of toxic heavy metals was found below safe limits in all the biochars studied in this research which favors their suitability for environmental applications. On the other hand, adsorption studies revealed that the corn cob biochar exhibited the highest lead removal efficiency (98 %) at an adsorbent dose of 2 g l1. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the agricultural waste-derived biochars can be used as sustainable and effective materials for environmental management, including soil quality enhancement and heavy metal remediation.
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