Guwahati, March 25 -- In a significant breakthrough for sustainable wastewater treatment, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) have developed a cost-effective method to eliminate toxic pollutants from industrial wastewater using biochar derived from fruit waste.

Led by Dr. Gopal Das, professor in the Department of Chemistry, the team has demonstrated that biochar produced from pineapple crowns and mosambi (sweet lime) fibers can efficiently absorb nitroaromatic compounds, a class of hazardous chemicals prevalent in wastewater from industries such as dyes, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and cosmetics.

The findings, published in the prestigious journal Chemical Engineering Science, highlight the potential of th...