Cu-incorporated micro-mesoporous biochar for enhanced adsorption and persulfate-driven degradation of organic pollutants

Integrating adsorption with heterogeneous persulfate activation represents a promising strategy for the removal of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from aqueous systems. Nonetheless, the facile synthesis of bifunctional materials that simultaneously exhibit high adsorption capacity and strong catalytic activity remains challenging. In this study, Cu-incorporated micro/mesoporous biochar was synthesized via CO 2 -assisted thermochemical treatment of Cu-impregnated wood chips (WC). Characterization confirmed the formation of a hierarchical micro/mesoporous structure and the presence of abundant Cu active sites in biochar (CuWCB (CO 2 )). Performance evaluation demonstrated that CuWCB (CO 2 ) achieved a higher bisphenol A (BPA) adsorption efficiency (90.8%) than its N 2 -derived counterpart (15.2%). Upon peroxydisulfate addition, the residual BPA was completely degraded, achieving >99% removal. In addition to its water treatment performance, the CO 2 -assisted thermochemical treatment enhanced syngas production. This study demonstrates an integrated strategy that couples bifunctional material synthesis with thermochemical energy recovery.