
Sabolc PapUniversity of the Highlands and Islands | UHI · Environmental Research Institute (ERI)
Sabolc Pap
PhD of Environmental Engineering
Biochar, water treatment, and agriculture - three keystones of water, soil and climate resilience
About
94
Publications
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Introduction
My research is primarily based around adsorption technology for removal of emerging contaminants (metals/metalloids and pharmaceuticals); adsorbent/biochar synthesis, functionalisation and characterisation from biomass and other waste/raw materials (within the principles of a circular economy); wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery; knowledge exchange and implementation of bench-scale treatment technologies within the water sector (scale-up and pilot testing).
Additional affiliations
Education
November 2011 - September 2017
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences
Field of study
- Environmental Engineering
October 2010 - October 2011
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences
Field of study
- Environmental Engineering
September 2006 - September 2010
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technical Sciences
Field of study
- Environmental Engineering
Publications
Publications (94)
The marine environment is an abundant source of organisms which are rich in functional/bioactive compounds. Many of these compounds exhibit a remarkable potential for medical, industrial and biotechnological applications. Handled appropriately, with a focus on sustainability, these organisms and compounds can offer new and renewable feedstocks for...
Constructed wetlands (CWs) can play a crucial role in treating wastewater, and in the context of this study, the
distillation byproduct of the whisky industry known as ’spent lees’. Here, we assess several different CW substrates (pea gravel, LECA and Alfagrog), with and without the addition of 20% biochar, in mesocosms set up to
treat spent lees....
Harvesting of plantation conifers on peatlands is carried out as part of restoration and forestry operations. In
particular, in the UK and Ireland, conifer plantations on drained ombrotrophic blanket and raised bogs are
increasingly being removed (by harvesting), along with blocking of drainage ditches to help raise water tables to
reinitiate an...
The presence of arsenic in groundwater, and through this in drinking water, has been shown to present a serious risk to public health in many regions of the world. In this study, two iron-rich carbonous adsorbents were compared for the removal of arsenate (As(V)) from groundwater. Biochars (FeO-biochar and FeO-pyrochar) derived from biomass waste w...
Toxic elements, lead, and copper are often found in wastewater discharged from industries such as mining. The discharge of untreated effluent poses severe environmental challenges and sorption methods using agricultural waste materials are proposed as an efficient and cost-effective solution. For this research, activated sunflower material (ASM) wa...
Metformin (MF) is widely used in the prevention and treatment of Type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. Following its medical administration, it may pass through the body and be introduced into the wastewater treatment system. However, conventional treatment plants are ineffective in removal of MF from wastewater resulting in its introduction in...
Benzotriazole and its derivatives (BTAs) are commonly present in wastewater due to their extensive use in industrial processes, yet their removal is still unexplored. Here, we test the removal of these pollutants using two functionalised biochars, synthesised from wild plum (WpOH) and apricot (AsPhA) kernels. The aim of this work was to optimise th...
Oxygen-containing groups on the surfaces of materials (i.e.,-COOH and-OH) are vital to the adsorption of toxic metals. Acrylic acid is used as a green grafter to enhance the density of these groups in carbonaceous materials, whereas ammonium cerium nitrate is used as an initiator. Hydrochar (prepared via hydrothermal carbonization at 190°C), biocha...
Historically, sludge has been applied to agricultural land to recycle nutrients & carbon. However, untreated sludge contains a myriad of potentially harmful organic & inorganic compounds, many of which are unregulated e.g. flame retardants, microplastics and pharmaceuticals. As these may be taken up by plants and enter food chains, such practices a...
The source of almost all of the lead (Pb) found in meat from carcasses of wild-shot small game animals is often thought to be small embedded fragments of the lead shotgun pellets usually used by hunters to kill them. Available circumstantial evidence supports this conjecture, but an unknown proportion of the lead in game meat might be biologically-...
The ever-growing consumption of pharmaceuticals (PhCs) and their constant occurrence in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents requires investigation of efficient, sustainable and economically feasible solutions for their removal. Conventional treatment processes within WWTPs are not capable of removing these micropollutants, which are the mat...
Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are continuously released via hospital effluents and have been shown to be toxic to aquatic organisms, even at very low concentrations. Future risks to human health might also emerge due to accumulation of these compounds in food chains, through contamination of water supplies and propagation of antimicrobia...
The main challenges to overcome within the Fenton process are the acidic pH as an optimal reaction condition, sludge formation in neutral pH medium and high toxicity of treated printing wastewater due to the generation of contaminating by-products. This research discusses catalytic activity of homogeneous (FeSO4/H2O2) and heterogeneous (Fe2(MoO4)3/...
Eutrophication and the predicted limited future availability of rock phosphate has triggered the increased development of phosphorus (P) recovery technologies, however, for remote regions, recovery solutions are still limited. Here, we report on a novel pilot-scale technology (FILTRAFLO TM-P reactor) to recover phosphate (PO 4 3−) from wastewater e...
Machine learning (ML) is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI). It is based on teaching computers how to learn from data and how to improve with experience. This valuable technique has been increasingly supporting different spheres of life. This includes ML application in enhancement and optimisation of many ecological and environmental engineer...
As a lignocellulose biomass, waste conifer brash (waste treetops and branches) from felled afforested peatland sites can be converted to biochar through pyrolysis, thus creating a potentially useful product. Here, we propose that brash from ‘forest-to-bog’ peatland restoration sites through conversion to biochar, could be utilised for nutrient (PO4...
Wastewater effluents are great contributors to the ubiquitous problem of water contamination. Seen as one of the “greener” technology solutions, coagulation/flocculation technology utilises alternative coagulants of “green” origin. A life cycle assessment was performed in order to provide an environmental performance evaluation of three differently...
The journal Carbon Research is an international multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on natural and engineered carbonaceous materials that are associated with ecological and environmental functions, energy generation, and global change. It is a fully Open Access (OA) journal and the Article Publi...
The usage of pharmaceuticals (PhCs) as an integral part of human healthcare is growing globally. However, as most current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are not designed for the removal of PhC residues, effective and cost-efficient new technologies are required to meet this challenge. Adsorption has proven to be an efficient method, however, t...
This work looked to explore biochar’s potential to mitigate against phosphate pollution by testing biochar for its capacity to remediate water through the capture of excess this nutrients. Here, we propose that brash from ‘forest-to-bog’ peatland restoration sites through conversion to functionalised biochar with cerium and lanthanum (Ce/La) hydr(o...
Shell from the seafood processing industry is an under-utilised waste resource worldwide. Calcite, the major component of shell is commonly used in wastewater treatment for the removal of phosphorus (P). Here, mussel and oyster shell-based adsorbents (MSB and OSB) were used for removal of P as phosphate (PO4³⁻) from aqueous solution and secondary w...
Municipal wastewater is a valuable source of phosphorus (P) for the production of fertilizing products, such as microalgae (MA), crab carapace material (CCM), P salt produced by chemical leaching of sludge (P salt CL), and sewage sludge ash produced by pyrolysis and the incineration of sludge (SSA PI). This study compares the P availability of thes...
In 2020, nine major UK shooting and rural organisations proposed a voluntary transition from the use for hunting of lead shotgun ammunition to non-lead alternatives. The major food retailer Waitrose & Partners has announced its intention to move to not supplying game meat products from animals killed using any kind of lead ammunition and the Nation...
Within the transition from a fossil fuel reserve-based world to a bio-based economy, we face the vital need to close nutrient cycles and move toward more balanced resource management. Phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater will become increasingly vital in the future as terrestrial rock phosphate deposits are limited [1].
The Environmental Resear...
Phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater will become increasingly vital in the future in terms of the protection of valuable freshwater resources (i.e., from eutrophication) and due to rapidly dwindling terrestrial rock phosphate stocks. Effective management of P as a critical resource will require new integrated approaches and techniques to efficie...
Algae production in nutrient rich sludge dewatering leachate after biogas production is a promising option for wastewater treatment plants. However, the ultra-violet (UV) absorbing characteristic of UV-quenching substances (UVQS) existing in these waters can notably reduce the light transmission within the liquid body. The present work demonstrates...
There is now increasing interest in the creation of a more ‘circular economy’, with a particular aim to eliminate more waste by design. Within this concept waste materials should be more efficiently re-used and/or recycled to extract the maximum value from them whilst minimising resource loss and consumption. Here, a sulphur functionalised micropor...
There is now increasing interest in the creation of a more 'circular economy', with a particular aim to eliminate waste-by design, within which products are optimised to be reused, restored or returned. Here, a sulphur functionalised microporous biochar was synthesised from an abundant biomass waste material (cherry kernels), for the selective remo...
This work describes the development, optimisation and validation of an analytical method for the rapid determination of 17 priority pharmaceutical compounds and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Rather than studying compounds from the same therapeutic class, the analyses aimed to determine target compounds with the highest risk potential (with...
Environmental Research Institute (ERI) has been developing the FILTRAFLOTM-P reactor (with Veolia Water Technologies) to recover P from wastewater treatment plant/septic tank effluent through a filtration/adsorption process. This small unit employs enhanced gravitational filtration through adsorption media (here with crab carapace based chitosan-ca...
The spatial distribution of various organochlorinated compounds (PCBs and ОCPs (DDTs, HCB, and HCHs)) were investigated in sediments of Serbia's stretch of the Danube River. The obtained concentrations appeared to be relatively low in comparison with other river sediments worldwide. The results demonstrated a wide range of concentrations (µg/kg dry...
This letter is in response to the comments of Dr Hu and Dr Zhang on “Low-cost chitosan-calcite adsorbent development for potential phosphate removal and recovery from wastewater effluent” (Pap et al., 2020). We thank Dr Hu and Dr Zhang for their interest and comments, and having reflected, we wish to provide some clarification.
Here, Box-Behnken-Design (BBD) approaches were utilised to optimise synthesis methodology for the chitosan-calcite rich adsorbent (CCM) made from fishery-food waste material (crab carapace), using low temperature activation and potassium hydroxide (KOH). The effect of activation temperature, activation time and impregnation ratio were studied. The...
Phosphorous (P) recovery from wastewater will become increasingly vital in the future as terrestrial rock phosphate deposits are expended. Effective management of P as a critical resource will require new techniques to recover P from wastewater, ideally in a form that can be used in agriculture as fertiliser. In this study, batch and fixed-bed colu...
The contamination of drinking water by arsenate, As(V), has been shown to present a serious risk for public health in many regions of the world. Among the various techniques available for the removal of As(V) from water, adsorption is considered to be one of the most promising. In this study, two magnetic iron-rich carbonous adsorbents were compare...
Phosphorus (P) recovery from wastewater will become increasingly vital in the future as terrestrial rock phosphate deposits are expended. Effective management of P as a critical resource will require new techniques to recover P from wastewater, ideally in a form that can be used in agriculture as fertiliser.
In this study, batch and fixed-bed colu...
Poster for attendance of EMEC 20 in Lodz and winner of a best poster communication award “The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water”.
There is growing global awareness of the presence and negative impacts of waste plastic in the marine environment. Risks to wildlife include ingestion and entanglement for macro-plastic (larger than 5 mm in length), alongside food chain transfer for micro-plastics (less than 5 mm in length). Plastics in the marine environment have also been shown t...
Wild plums are among the most common fruits in Serbia, and kernels are generally disposed of as waste. A new generation of functionalised biochar (WpOH) was prepared from wild plum kernels by simultaneous pyrolysis and microwave KOH functionalisation, and used for ionisable pharmaceutical (naproxen (NPX)) removal from water.
Functionalised biochar (WpOH) was prepared from wild plum kernels using simultaneous pyrolysis and microwave potassium hydroxide (KOH) functionalisation. This was then applied to the removal (from water) of an ionisable pharmaceutical-naproxen (NPX). Characterization of the WpOH was carried out using pH pzc , SEM/EDX, BET, FTIR, XRD, and the princi...
Pharmaceuticals (PhCs) are a specific group of emerging environmental contaminants, because there are designed to influence biochemical processes in non-target organisms even at low concentrations. In this study, phosphorised carbonaceous adsorbent (CScPA) was prepared from lignocellulosic biomass through thermochemical functionalisation. Phosphoru...
The use of abundant natural wastes as environmentally friendly products promotes a circular green economy and cleaner production. The potential use of natural waste materials without additional processing for the removal of priority pharmaceuticals from water was investigated. Here, the performance of selected low-cost biosorbents (biochar, macro-a...
А highly effective adsorbent (PPhA) was designed using “acid catalyst” functionalisation and tested for six emerging PhCs (sulfamethoxazole (SMX), carbamazepine (CBZ), ketoprofen (KP), naproxen (NPX), diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBF)) in a batch study. Characterisation results (BET, SEM, FTIR, XRD and pHzpc) showed that the functionalisation pr...
Novel approaches to wastewater treatment are being sought globally - especially those involving low cost materials as adsorbents. Marine plastic may have the potential to be one useful option.
Phos4You (P4Y) project addresses the phosphorus (P) challenge. The research explore the recovery potential of P from municipal wastewater and adsorption of P onto natural, solid waste material.
Here, a highly effective adsorbent was designed using “acid catalyst” functionalization - whereby phosphate and phosphonate surface groups were introduced to the interface and bonded to a lignocellulosic structure. The phosphorized microporous carbonous material (PPhA) was tested with three priority PhCs (sulfamethoxazole (SMX), carbamazepine (CBZ)...
Human activities such as the discharge of industrial, domestic and agricultural wastewater are often responsible for the enrichment of surface waters with phosphate. P recovery from wastewater streams, through the adsorption of P onto natural, solid waste material may provide one solution. Ideally, this would be a low-cost solution that would creat...
Removal of Sr2+ from aqueous media presents particular challenges, especially in complex wastes such as nuclear industry liquors. Commercial sorbents while effective, can be highly expensive and subject to negative effects from competing ions. Here we evaluate two potential biosorbents (crab carapace and spent distillery grain) as potential alterna...
Plums and apricots are among the most popular fruits in Serbia and kernels of these are generally disposed of as waste. In common with other organic waste products there is potential to utilise these kernels in wastewater treatment. A new generation of highly-efficient biochars were therefore developed for low-cost wastewater treatment. The aim of...
The development of advanced carbon materials that can efficiently remove pollutants from water is of great interest for environmental remediation and human safety. Magnetic activated carbons (MACs) are a class of carbonous sorbents that possess a high surface area, high porosity and magnetic properties. Compared with conventional activated carbons,...
The results of the research in the field of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX) concentrations in exhaust gases of spark ignition engines under different operating conditions are presented in this paper. The aim of this paper is to gain a clearer insight into the impact of different engine working parameters on the concentratio...
The paper presents the results of the treatment of landfill leachate by applying the method of phytoremediation using hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). The leachate was sampled from the Municipal Landfill in Novi Sad, while the common water hyacinth was purchased from the Nursery of flowers and conifers in Ugrinovci. During the research, we monitore...
Phosphorus (P) fertiliser is commonly essential within modern food production/intensive farming systems. The vast majority of P for the fertiliser industry currently comes from mined rock-phosphate, which is a finite terrestrial resource. Hence, the recovery and re-use of valuable P from waste is now highly desirable. P recovery from wastewater, th...
Activated carbon (AC) is a highly porous material that can remove (through adsorption) many pollutants from the liquid and gas phase. Different lignocellulose waste materials, which are widely available, cheap and environmentally friendly, are gaining importance as precursors in the production of cheap ACs with specific structural and adsorbent pro...
The results of landfill leachate phytoremediation using Eichhornia crassipes will be presented in the paper. During the study, removal efficiency of four heavy metals, chromium, cadmium, nickel and zinc, concentration trends of sulfate ions and ammonium nitrogen, as well as variation of conductivity and pH values in landfill leachate were monitored...
Industrial wastewater polluted with heavy metals presents significant ecological and health risks. Such wastewater can be efficiently decontaminated with activated carbon. Waste cherry kernels are a low-cost material used to produce non-conventional activated carbon. This research applies life cycle assessment, comparative adsorption study, and cos...
This study was conducted to test adsorption ability of " low-cost " activated carbon produced from sweet and sour cherry kernels by thermochemical activation using phosphoric acid. Kinetics of diclofenac removal from aqueous solutions onto synthesized activated carbon have been investigated using batch adsorption experiments. Time dependent assays...