Biochar-enabled phosphorus recovery from aqueous: Advances, applications and challenges

Environ Res. 2025 Jul 11:122329. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.122329. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for crop production, yet its runoff poses a significant threat to water quality. Excessive phosphorus release are not only harmful to the environment but also result in squandering of valuable resources. As a result, it is very urgent to develop advanced technologies to simultaneously mitigate aquatic phosphorus pollution and address the global phosphorus scarcity. In recent years, the dual-carbon strategy has spurred more interest in biochar applications. This eco-friendly material, characterized by abundant surface functional groups, demonstrates remarkable potential for phosphorus recovery from aqueous environments. In addition, the phosphorus-laden biochar can be further utilized as a slow-release phosphorus fertilizer, enhancing the soil phosphorus availability and promoting the agricultural productivity while alleviating the current global phosphorus resource constraints. Through a comprehensive analysis of the relevant references, this work reviews the fabrication technologies of biochar, parameters governing phosphorus recovery, the adsorption mechanism and implementation challenges for biochar adsorbing phosphorus in engineering application systems. Moreover, the regeneration process of phosphorus-saturated biochar and its potential application as a phosphate-based fertilizer were systematically analyzed. In the end, the current challenges and future perspectives for biochar-based phosphorus recovery were outlined.

Keywords: Adsorption mechanism; Agricultural production; Biochar; Phosphorus recovery; Water eutrophication.

Publication types

  • Review