ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, cilt.315, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Potentially toxic metals have become a viable threat to the ecosystem due to their carcinogenic nature. Biochar has gained substantial interest due to its redox-mediated processes and redox-active metals. Biochar has the capacity to directly adsorb the pollutants from contaminated environments through several mechanisms such as coprecipitation, complexation, ion exchange, and electrostatic interaction. Biochar's electron-mediating poten-tial may be influenced by the cyclic transition of surface moieties and conjugated carbon structures. Thus, py-rolysis configuration, biomass material, retention time, oxygen flow, and heating time also affect biochar's redox properties. Generally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) exist as free radicals (FRs) in radical and non-radical forms, i.e., hydroxyl radical, superoxide, nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide, and singlet oxygen. Heavy metals are involved in the production of FRs during redox-mediated reactions, which may contribute to ROS formation. This review aims to critically evaluate the redox-mediated characteristics of biochar produced from various biomass feed-stocks under different pyrolysis conditions. In addition, we assessed the impact of biochar-assisted FRs redox-mediated processes on heavy metal immobilization and mobility. We also revealed new insights into the func-tion of FRs in biochar and its potential uses for environment-friendly remediation and reducing the dependency on fossil-based materials, utilizing local residual biomass as a raw material in terms of sustainability.