Engineered hydrochar for industrial wastewater quality monitoring and treatment

生物质是可再生有机碳的唯一丰富来源，可转化为各种生物化学物质和生物材料。碳氢化合物是其中一种生物材料，在土壤改进剂、催化剂载体和生物吸附剂等方面的应用已经证明了它的潜力。拟议的国际合作旨在利用澳大利亚和巴西领先研究小组的专业知识，创建一个科学强大的平台，以开展世界领先的工程碳氢化合物产品开发研究。初步探索的应用将包括有效的工业废水质量监测和处理。该项目非常符合循环经济的概念，也被视为将碳源转化为稳定碳汇的良好实践。目前的研究成果将包括：1)建立一支经验丰富的研究团队，并具备互补的专业知识，对碳氢化合物进行一系列环境应用的前沿研究；2)开发用于去除工业废水中重金属的工程碳氢化合物的概念验证设计和用于水质监测的生物传感器；3)研究团队的定位，申请更大规模的研究经费，将研究扩展到概念验证之外，并在碳氢化合物研究方面建立国际声誉。加拿大人均生产的生物质资源比其他任何国家都多。该项目的成果将有助于建立加拿大作为世界生物产品开发领导者的声誉，以及有效将废弃生物质转化为先进生物碳材料的能力，以提高环境的可持续性。它还有助于弥合与用于工业废水处理的工程碳氢化合物生产相关的重大知识差距，同时最大限度地减少能源足迹。它还为循环经济概念的实际应用和向低碳社会的转变提供了范例。

Biomass represents the only abundant source of renewable organic carbon which can be converted to a variety of biochemicals and biomaterials. Hydrochar is one of these biomaterials and has demonstrated its potential in a variety of applications as soil amendments, catalyst supports, and bio-adsorbents. The proposed international collaboration aims to leverage the expertise of leading research groups from Australia and Brazil to create a scientifically robust platform for undertaking world-leading research for the development of engineered hydrochar products. The initial applications to be explored will include effective industrial wastewater quality monitoring and treatment. The project fits well into the concept of the Circular Economy and is also viewed as a good practice to convert carbon source to a stable carbon sink.The outcomes from the current study will include 1) The establishment of a highly experienced research team with complementary expertise to undertake cutting edge research on hydrochar for a range of environmental applications; 2) Developing proof of concept designs for engineered hydrochar for the removal of heavy metals in industrial wastewater and biosensors for water quality monitoring; 3) Positioning of the research team to apply for larger-scale research funding to extend the research beyond the proof of concept and to build an international reputation in hydrochar research.Canada produces more biomass resources per capita than any other country. The outcomes from this project will contribute to building Canada's reputation as a world leader in the development of bioproducts and capacity for effective conversion of waste biomass to advanced biocarbon materials for improving environmental sustainability. It also contributes to bridging significant knowledge gaps in relation to the production of engineered hydrochar for application to industrial wastewater treatment whilst minimising the energy footprint. It also serves as an exemplar for the practical application of the Circular Economy concept and the move to a low-carbon society.