THE USE OF FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES IN AGRICULTURE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED CROP PRODUCTION WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER, THE EXCESSIVE APPLICATION OF THEM HAS ALSO CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION. TRADITIONAL PHYSICAL REMEDIATION METHODS, E.G., ADSORPTION, COAGULATION, AND ION EXCHANGE, ARE LIMITED IN THAT THEY ONLY TRANSFER POLLUTANTS FROM LIQUID TO SOLID PHASES, THEREBY GENERATING SECONDARY POLLUTANTS. AN ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESS USING PHOTOCATALYSIS CAN DEGRADE VARIOUS AQUEOUS POLLUTANTS TO CO2, WATER, AND LOW MOLECULAR-WEIGHT COMPOUNDS. HOWEVER, ITS WIDESPREAD APPLICATION IS COMPROMISED BY A NARROW ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION REQUIREMENT AND LOW EFFICIENCY. HEREIN, WE PROPOSE A NOVEL REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY BASED ON NANOSTRUCTURED WOOD (NW) DECORATED WITH TITANIA (TIO2) PARTICLES AIMING AT NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS POLLUTANTS IN AGRICULTURAL WASTEWATER. TWO REMEDIATION MECHANISMS, PHYSICAL ADSORPTION AND PHOTO-OXIDATION, WOULD SYNERGISTICALLY FUNCTION IN THIS WOOD-BASED REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY. NW, CREATED BY THE DIRECT CARBONIZATION OF WOOD, SERVES NOT ONLY AS A PHYSICAL ABSORBENT, BUT ALSO AS A POROUS CARBON-RICH SUPPORT BEARING GRAPHITIC NANOSTRUCTURES FOR ENHANCED TIO2 PHOTOCATALYSIS. TIO2 DECORATED ON THE NW SUPPORT (NW-TI), DEPOSITED BY THERMAL SPRAY COATING OR GROWN BY CO-CARBONIZATION, WOULD REMOVE AGRICULTURAL POLLUTANTS UNDER VISIBLE LIGHT RADIATION WITH ENHANCED PHOTOCATALYTIC EFFICIENCY. THIS PROJECT WOULD INCREASE PROTECTION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS BY NOVEL USES OF WOODY BIOMASS AND NANO-BIOMATERIALS FROM FOREST ORIGINS.
$200,000FY2021National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State MS