Agricultural Biomass Research Articles

Sustainable Sources of Raw Materials for Additive Manufacturing of Bone-Substituting Biomaterials.

The need for sustainable development has never been more urgent, as the world continues to struggle with environmental challenges, such as climate change, pollution, and dwindling natural resources. The use of renewable and recycled waste materials as a source of raw materials for biomaterials and tissue engineering is a promising avenue for sustainable development. Although tissue engineering has rapidly developed, the challenges associated with fulfilling the increasing demand for bone substitutes and implants remain unresolved, particularly as the global population ages. This review provides an overview of waste materials, such as eggshells, seashells, fish residues, and agricultural biomass, that can be transformed into biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. While the development of recycled metals is in its early stages, the use of probiotics and renewable polymers to improve the biofunctionalities of bone implants is highlighted. Despite the advances of additive manufacturing (AM), studies on AM waste-derived bone-substitutes are limited. It is foreseeable that AM technologies can provide a more sustainable alternative to manufacturing biomaterials and implants. The preliminary results of eggshell and seashell-derived calcium phosphate and rice husk ash-derived silica can likely pave the way for more advanced applications of AM waste-derived biomaterials for sustainably addressing several unmet clinical applications.

Co-pelletization of Hemp Residues and Agricultural Biomass: Effect on Pellet Quality and Stability

The rising interest in lowering the use of fossil fuels, which influence environmental pollution and global warming, is driving a substantial increase in renewable sources. Agricultural residues are the likely potential source for bioenergy generation. Some of them are already utilized for energy. Nonetheless, their potential is underutilized due to low biomass quality and high concentrations of sulfur and chloride, which induce the corrosion of adjoining equipment. However, their ash content and ash melting point make their utilization as renewable resources essential. Therefore, there is a need to find technologies to enhance biomass utilization for bioenergy processes. With the increase in hemp cultivation to extract phytocannabinoids, the amount of unused biomass has increased. The aim of this research was to investigate the use of hemp biomass for pellets and improve pellet quality by mixing them with lignin and oak sawdust. The results showed that the lowest amount of ash was found in pellets with 80% oak sawdust and 20% hemp residue compared with pellets made from mixtures of hemp residues, lignin, and oak sawdust. The highest calorific value was achieved by mixing hemp residues (20%) with lignin (80%).

Agricultural biomethane production in France: A spatially-explicit estimate

Biomethane production by anaerobic digestion can significantly contribute to the decarbonation and defossilization of the European energy mix. Although previous estimates have been provided about biomethane potential production in several European countries, they suffer from a coarse evaluation of substrate availability and a lack of spatial resolution. This paper provides a spatially-explicit assessment of the potential for biomethane production in France at a fine spatial resolution (NUTS 4 region) from agricultural biomass (livestock manure, crop residues and cover crops) and sewage sludge. This assessment is based on (i) a fine estimation of substrate availability, particularly for cover crop production, by combining a crop model with spatially-explicit soil and climate databases; (ii) the use of an anaerobic digestion model that predicts biomethane production from agricultural biomass; and (iii) a procedure for optimizing biomethane production while respecting the stoichiometric constraints of the substrate mixture. We found a significant potential for annual biomethane production of 64.1 TWh, mainly from cattle manure, a value that could reach 108.7 TWh through the generalization of cover crops within arable cropping systems. Our results also highlighted the importance of detailed substrate availability data to account for their large spatial variations. Accordingly, we showed that biomethane production was highly variable across the French regions and that crop residues could only partly be used for anaerobic digestion – especially in arable regions – because they lead to excessively dry substrate mixtures. This study helped to identify the most suitable regions for biomethane production and to provide accurate estimates for biomethane development in France.

Promoting an integrated planning for a sustainable upscale of renewable energy. A regional GIS-based comparison between ecosystem services tradeoff and policy constraints

The upscale of renewable energy production on a regional scale implies possible negative impacts on the environment, economies and societies. To ensure the sustainability of renewable energy production on a regional scale, the lens of ecosystem services can support sustainable energy assessments. This paper proposes a GIS-based methodology to spatially analyze the integration of renewable energy with other ecosystem services in order to identify trade-offs. The work focuses on solar farms and agricultural biomass from leftovers and considers five other ecosystem services that are fundamental to agricultural landscapes. The proposed assessment methodology relates land cover types to land suitability for renewable energy production, building on the literature on ecosystem service tradeoffs. The methodology was tested on a case study. The case study is the Veneto Region, whose renewable energy policy constraints are also analyzed. The assessment methodology shows that the land cover of fruit crops has a high level of tradeoff. The results of the case study highlight the discrepancy between the two separate analyses: the policy constraints analysis favours solar agriculture, while the tradeoff analysis favours energy production from agricultural biomass. Finally, the study paves the way for further investigation in the field of ES-RES and provides policy recommendations.

Assessment of the Potentials of Theobroma Cacao Pod-Feldspar Composite Adsorbent for Heavy Metal Removal in Waste Water

Purpose: Most conventional wastewater treatment techniques for the removal heavy metals are highly expensive and may, create sludge disposal problems. Adsorption techniques are relatively cheaper particularly when the process is carried out using low-cost materials and biomass. This paper is on the assessment of the potentials of a modified feldspar composite absorbent developed from waste agricultural biomass (Theobroma cocoa pod) and feldspar mineral in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater.
 Methodology: The physicochemical analysis were carried out on the wastewater samples before and after treatment with modified feldspar composite using standard methods. Portions of the samples were directly digested and analysed for Pb, Cd, Cr and As, while the second portions were treated with the modified Theobroma cocoa pod-Felspar (TCPF) adsorbent under optimum conditions before analysing for the heavy metals. The desorption (cleaning) of the TCPF adsorbent after the adsorption of the heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As and Cr) from the wastewater was carried out with 0.1 M HCl.
 Findings: The AAS analysis revealed that, the concentrations of the heavy metals in the wastewater before treatment with TCPF were higher and followed Pb>Cr>Cd>As trend and were above WHO and NESREA standards. The values for the samples treated with TCPF were lower and followed Cr>As>Pb>Cd trend and were within the standards. The differences between the values for the individual metals in the wastewater before and after treatment with the TCPF adsorbent were significant at p< 0.05. The adsorption efficiency of the TCPF was high for Pb (98.92%), Cd (96.88%) and Cr (97.18). Similarly, the TCPF showed high desorption efficiency with 76.8% for Pb, 90.6% for Cd, 94.4% for As and 80.3% for Cr.
 Unique contribution to theory policy and practice: The modified composite (TCPF) has shown some significant potentials for use in the removal of the selected heavy metals from wastewater and industrial effluent.

Particulates, unregulated and regulated emissions and catalytic converter efficiency evaluation of methanol (M15) fuelled BS-VI compliant light-duty spark-ignition engine

Methanol adaptation in the transport sector is being encouraged worldwide. Methanol, a high-octane fuel, is emerging as a strong fuel candidate for powering spark-ignition (SI) engines and it can be indigenously produced from low-value agricultural biomass waste and high-ash coal. This study investigated particulates and unregulated and regulated emissions from M15 (15 % v/v methanol, 82 % v/v gasoline, 3 % v/v propanol) fueled Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) 2020 compliant light-duty SI engine equipped with a multipoint port fuel injection system and compared it with baseline gasoline fueled engine. The catalytic conversion efficiency for controlling regulated and unregulated emission species are also discussed for both test fuels. The experimental results showed a reduction in carbonaceous emissions from M15 fueled engine. Hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate emissions reduced, while oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were comparable to baseline gasoline-fueled engine. The catalytic conversion of CO emission was higher for M15 but lower for HC and NOx emissions. Various unregulated trace emission components such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methane, ethene and propene reduced with methanol addition to gasoline. Considerable reductions in benzene and toluene trace emissions were observed for M15, but methanol and ethane trace emissions were higher. The catalytic conversion of all unregulated trace emission components was comparable for both test fuels except alcohols, where M15 exhibited increased trace emission values. The study reflected that M15 could easily replace gasoline in BS-VI-compliant light-duty SI transportation engines. However, verification of all regulatory emission compliances, diagnostics and durability compliances need be ascertained before large-scale implemetation.

Challenges and Opportunities of Agricultural Biomass as a Replacement for PCI Coal in the Ironmaking Blast Furnace: A Review

Challenges and Opportunities of Agricultural Biomass as a Replacement for PCI Coal in the Ironmaking Blast Furnace: A Review

Non-intrusive soil carbon content quantification methods using machine learning algorithms: A comparison of microwave and millimeter wave radar sensors

Agricultural and forestry biomass can be converted to biochar through pyrolysis gasification, making it a significant carbon source for soil. Applying biochar to soil is a carbon-negative process that helps combat climate change, sustain soil biodiversity, and regulate water cycling. However, quantifying soil carbon content conventionally is time-consuming, labor-intensive, imprecise, and expensive, making it difficult to accurately measure in-field soil carbon’s effect on storage water and nutrients. To address this challenge, this paper for the first time, reports on extensive lab tests demonstrating non-intrusive methods for sensing soil carbon and related smart biochar applications, such as differentiating between biochar types from various biomass feedstock species, monitoring soil moisture, and biochar water retention capacity using portable microwave and millimeter wave sensors, and machine learning. These methods can be scaled up by deploying the sensor in-field on a mobility platform, either ground or aerial. The paper provides details on the materials, methods, machine learning workflow, and results of our investigations. The significance of this work lays the foundation for assessing carbon-negative technology applications, such as soil carbon content accounting. We validated our quantification method using supervised machine learning algorithms by collecting real soil mixed with known biochar contents in the field. The results show that the millimeter wave sensor achieves high sensing accuracy (up to 100%) with proper classifiers selected and outperforms the microwave sensor by approximately 10%–15% accuracy in sensing soil carbon content.

Agricultural Wastewater Treatment Using Oil Palm Waste Activated Hydrochar for Reuse in Plant Irrigation: Synthesis, Characterization, and Process Optimization

The best possible use of natural resources and the large amounts of trash produced by industrial and human activity is necessary for sustainable development. Due to the threat of global climate change and other environmental challenges, waste management systems are changing, leading to more instances of water resource management. The waste generated must be controlled from a sustainability point of view. Typically, the conventional disposal of Agricultural Wastewater (AW) and biomass can be achieved by recycling, reusing, and converting them into a variety of green products. To improve the AW quality for the purposes of environmental sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 14, dealing with clean water, sanitation, and life below water, are very important goals. Therefore, the present investigation evaluates the effectiveness of a Bench-scale Activated Sludge Reactor (BASR) system for AW treatment. The BASR was designed to focus on getting the maximum possible utilization out of a biosorbent derived from oil palm waste activated hydrochar (OPAH). This is in accordance with SDG 9, which targets inorganic and organic waste utilization for added value. An experiment was developed using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). A Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of 1–3 days was used in the bioreactor’s setup and operation, and Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids (MLSS) concentrations of 4000–6000 mg/L were used. BASR was fed with AW with initial mean concentrations of 4486 ± 5.63 mg/L and 6649 ± 3.48 for the five-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) experiments, respectively. The results obtained showed that maximum reductions of 84.66% and 72.07% were recorded for BOD5 and COD, respectively. Through RSM optimization, the greatest reductions in the amounts of organic materials were achieved with a 2-day HRT and an MLSS dosage of 5000 mg/L. Substrate elimination thresholds were assessed using the first-order, the Grau second-order, and the modified Stover–Kincannon models. The reported observations were found to be perfectly fit by the modified Stover–Kincannon model, with high R2 values of 0.9908 and 0.9931 for BOD5 and COD, respectively. As a result, the model may be used to design the BASR system and forecast how the reactor would behave. The findings from this study suggest that the developed OPAH has promising potential to be applied as eco-friendly material for the removal of BOD5 and COD from AW. Consequently, the study findings additionally possess the ability to address SDGs 6, 9, and 14, in order to fulfil the United Nations (UN) goals through 2030.

Anaerobic digestion: A promising technology of utilizing radioactively contaminated plant biomass

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a widely used technology that allows for the reprocessing and reduction of waste biomass. A study was conducted to see if the AD technology might be used to process radioactively polluted agricultural biomass. For this purpose, laboratory tests were carried out with a 20-liter model biogas plant (BGP) with the radionuclide 134Cs and operational tests with the South Bohemian commercial biogas plant monitoring the radionuclide 137Cs. The activities of 134Cs in inputs, contaminated grass or maize silage and in emerging fractions were investigated in the model fermenter. The activity of 134Cs in the dry matter during the fermentation process increased by 46% on average, which corresponds to a reduction of dry matter by 43% due to the production of biogas. 137Cs activities were measured in commercial BGP maize, grass, and whole plant silage, wheat, digestate, biogas, and aerosol samples. The commercial BGP fermentation process was more efficient, with an 80% reduction in dry mass weight. Dry biomass (1.37 Bq/kg) had a 137Cs massic activity that was 4.4 times lower than the activity of dry digestate mass (6.01 Bq/kg). The activity of the 137Cs in biogas aerosol was 1.1 × 10−7 Bq/m3 or less, and the decontamination factor was 6.9 × 106 or greater. Most Cs remain in the digestate. No other ways of radioactivity leakage have been identified.

Impact of Soil Biodisinfection Techniques in Horticultural Crops on Profitability within the Framework of the Circular Economy

Agricultural systems must identify fertilization strategies in line with the principles of sustainable development and the circular economy to achieve environmentally friendly food production and to meet the fertilizer-reduction targets set by some territories, such as the European Union (EU). The objective of this work was to identify the multifunctionality and cost-effectiveness in the use of the biodisinfection technique in greenhouse horticultural crops. For this purpose, a cost comparison of the different cultivation strategies was conducted, based on a systematic review of the existing literature. The results of this work suggest that the biodisinfection of soil containing agricultural biomass serves as a fertilization strategy that allows a reduction in a large part of inorganic fertilizers in protected horticultural crops of intensive nature, in addition to mitigating the expression of soil pathogens. Reducing the use of fertilizers and phytosanitary products, management fees, and important means of production, such as water, allows a reduction of up 6.1% in production costs. The biodisinfection technique is a methodology that can promote circularity in farms while favoring the use of waste, such as agricultural biomass, which can damage the environment when not properly treated.

Preparation of aerogels from corn stalks and research on their properties and gelation behavior

Corn straw is a kind of agricultural biomass waste produced by the corn crop. It is a question of how to make effective use of this waste resource. Biomass aerogel is a good adsorbent which can be used to deal with water pollution. The direct use of non-component separated maize straw as the raw material in this paper can effectively reduce the experimental cost, simplify the experimental procedures and make efficient use of maize straw compared to traditional cellulosic raw materials. The inorganic salt lithium bromide (LiBr) solution was used as the solvent, and the environmentally friendly corn stover whole component aerogels (CA) with excellent performance were prepared by solvent replacement and freeze-drying. The optimum process for the preparation of aerogels was obtained using a single factor test method: 1:200, 150 ℃, 40 min, 70 wt% LiBr. The full-component aerogels from maize straw contained cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, which indicated that the maize straw was effectively utilised. CA has a three-dimensional network pore structure, mainly composed of micropores and mesoporous pores. It has ultra-low density (9 mg/cm3) and excellent adsorption capacity for methylene blue and soybean oil (123.59 mg/g, 103.58 g/g). At the same time, the Rheolaser Master Microrheological (RMM) analyzer of French Formulaction Company was used to investigate the changes in solution gel process. The mean azimuth shift (MSD) curve of the sample was measured by optical microrheometer. The elastic factor (EI), macroscopic viscosity factor (MVI), solid-liquid equilibrium point (SLB), and photon free path (I*) values of the samples were calculated to explore the microstructure and rheological characteristics of the samples during the gel process. The gel behaviour and processes have been explored based on the analysis of these parameters. Potential applications of whole-component aerogels from corn stalks include building insulation, thermal insulation, light-blocking materials, and packaging materials.

Performance Evaluation of Phenol-Resin-Based Adsorbents for Heat Transformation Applications.

Phenol resins (PRs) are considered as relatively inexpensive adsorbents synthesized from agricultural biomass via employing a variety of synthesized procedures. The performance of PR for heat transformation application is not widely investigated. In this regard, the present study aims to evaluate the four PR derivative/refrigerant pairs, namely (i) KOH6-PR/CO2, (ii) SAC-2/HFC, (iii) KOH4-PR/ethanol, and (iv) KOH6-PR/ethanol, for adsorption cooling and adsorption heating applications. Ideal cycle analyses and/or thermodynamic modelling approaches were utilized comprising governing heat and mass balance equations and adsorption equilibrium models. The performance of the AHP system is explored by means of specific cooling energy (SCE), specific heating energy (SHE), and coefficient of performance (COP), both for cooling and heating applications, respectively. It has been realized that KOH6-PR/ethanol could produce a maximum SCE of 1080 kJ/kg/cycle and SHE of 2141 kJ/kg/cycle at a regeneration temperature (Treg) and condenser temperature (Tcond) of 80 °C, and 10 °C, respectively, followed by KOH4-PR/ethanol, SAC-2/HFC-32, and KOH6-PR/CO2. The maximum COP values were estimated to be 1.78 for heating and 0.80 for cooling applications, respectively, at Treg = 80 °C and Tcond = 10 °C. In addition, the study reveals that, corresponding to increase/decrease in condenser/evaporator pressure, both SCE and SHE decrease/increase, respectively; however, this varies in magnitude due to adsorption equilibrium of the studied PR derivative/refrigerant pairs.

Acid and alkali pretreatment of agro by-products: Evaluating torrefaction efficiency and dechlorination

Utilisation of crop residues is limited due to their low energy and high ash content. This study aimed to develop a method for enabling the use of residual agricultural biomass through acid or alkali pretreatment followed by torrefaction. Pepper stems were treated with hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide for a brief period of time and rinsed with distilled water. Untreated and acid-pretreated samples had cellulose contents of 43.85% and 36.57%, respectively. The lignin content in the alkali-pretreated samples (22.74%) was lower than that in untreated samples (27.40%). Mass yield decreased with torrefaction temperature, ranging from 86.19% to 49.89%. However, alkali-treated samples showed smaller changes in mass yield (70.31–60.43%) than other samples. Regarding calorific value, untreated samples exhibited the highest increase (26.37%), whereas alkali-treated samples showed a modest increase of 10.62%. Chlorine content was higher in acid-compared with alkali-treated samples but decreased with temperature. Our study demonstrated that agricultural by-products can be used as energy sources through acid or alkali pretreatment prior to torrefaction. Future studies should explore a variety of agricultural by-products and consider pretreatment with different acids or alkalis, such as sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide.

A review on analysis of biochar produced from microwave-assisted pyrolysis of agricultural waste biomass

Every year the agricultural product processing industries produce large quantities of agricultural waste biomass (AWB). Whose disposal has become a serious issue concerning solid waste management due to environmental and health issues. Microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) is an intriguing technology for producing valuable products from waste feedstocks. AWB is converted into a valuable product like biochar by using MAP. The conversion of AWB into biochar by MAP is influenced by several factors such as type of feedstock, pyrolysis temperature, residence time, pressure, heating rate, susceptor, particle size, and microwave power. However, no review article is available to understand the role of MAP on biochar production from AWB. The current review focused on understanding the fundamentals of biochar production. It also reviews the challenges in producing biochar process by compatible, acceptable, and sustainable and its future directions to gain economic benefits even at small-scale applications. The generation of biochar from MAP and its uses in agriculture are discussed. The current review would address the knowledge gap and highlight the critical implications in biochar production and applications.

Combining behavioural TOPSIS and six multi-criteria weighting methods to rank biomass fuel pellets for energy use in Sweden

EU energy and climate policies continue to drive interest in biomass fuel pellets which can be produced from a wide variety of feedstock. The use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to support feedstock selection has the potential for more transparent and better decision-making. This study applies the behavioural TOPSIS, a prominent MCDA technique, to rank pellets for energy use in Sweden produced from under-utilised forest and agricultural biomass. Seven criteria were used to assess and rank the biomass pellets. The alternatives include 88 types of pellets from 11 biomass materials. Possible attitudes of an expert towards the risk of losses (risk averse, risk neutral and risk-seeking) were combined with six sets of criteria weights obtained using six weighting methods – a total of 18 input settings (scenarios). Despite having different input settings, almost identical results were obtained in all scenarios, meaning that the rankings were stable and consistent. Across all 18 scenarios, pellets produced from a reference spruce/pine sawdust blend are ranked ahead of other pellet types. Pellets produced from Scots pine bark exhibited stable and consistent rankings across all scenarios; and thus this biomass is the second-best overall. The next best materials overall are poplar, reed canary grass and wheat straw, whereas torrefied pellets (torrefied beech, poplar and wheat straw) were ranked last in all scenarios. Combining behavioural TOPSIS and a variety of criteria-weighting methods is a meaningful way of improving decision-making with respect to producing a more valid and reliable ranking of biomass fuel pellets for energy use in Sweden.

Bio-sorbents derived from agricultural biomass for the removal of emerging pollutants and its adsorption mechanisms

Bio-sorbents derived from agricultural biomass for the removal of emerging pollutants and its adsorption mechanisms

Lignin used as a green and sustainable Agriculture biomass for renewable application. A Comprehensive review

The use of renewable energy sources is receiving more and more attention, because of the various adverse consequences related to utilizing non-sustainable power sources. In addition to other things, the biomass of horticultural harvests has been demonstrated to be a feasible nonrenewable energy source, pursuing it a seriously charming decision to separate or make steam-added items. These days, the pulp and paper sector produces 50 to 70 million tonnes of lignin annually, and most of it is burned to recover energy. Because it is a naturally occurring aromatic polymer rich in functional hydroxyl groups, lignin has attracted interest from both academia and business for its potential use in the production of polymeric products. Polyurethanes (PUs) are among the most significant polymers that may be produced from lignin, particularly given the variety of uses for which they are used. Lignin has a variety of uses, including those of glue, adhesive, sticky material, furniture, building structures, cement, and biomaterials. In an assortment of specialized, modern, and other environmentally friendly power applications, rice husk and debris are utilized in the ongoing examination to explore new and late green/supportable use. The foundation data on agro-squander applications is additionally given, and how much silica can be delivered from rice husk against other agro-squander sources is differentiated.

Draft genome sequence of Hahella sp. CR1 and its ability in producing cellulases for saccharifying agricultural biomass.

Hahella is a genus that has not been well-studied, with only two identified species. The potential of this genus to produce cellulases is yet to be fully explored. The present study isolated Hahella sp. CR1 from mangrove soil in Tanjung Piai National Park, Malaysia, and performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) using NovaSeq 6000. The final assembled genome consists of 62 contigs, 7,106,771bp, a GC ratio of 53.5%, and encoded for 6,397 genes. The CR1 strain exhibited the highest similarity with Hahella sp. HN01 compared to other available genomes, where the ANI, dDDH, AAI, and POCP were 97.04%, 75.2%, 97.95%, and 91.0%, respectively. In addition, the CAZymes analysis identified 88 GTs, 54 GHs, 11 CEs, 7 AAs, 2 PLs, and 48 CBMs in the genome of strain CR1. Among these proteins, 11 are related to cellulose degradation. The cellulases produced from strain CR1 were characterized and demonstrated optimal activity at 60 ℃, pH 7.0, and 15% (w/v) sodium chloride. The enzyme was activated by K+, Fe2+, Mg2+, Co2+, and Tween 40. Furthermore, cellulases from strain CR1 improved the saccharification efficiency of a commercial cellulase blend on the tested agricultural wastes, including empty fruit bunch, coconut husk, and sugarcane bagasse. This study provides new insights into the cellulases produced by strain CR1 and their potential to be used in lignocellulosic biomass pre-treatment.

A sustainable route for production of graphene oxide-contained nanostructured carbons from rice husk waste and its application in wastewater treatment

Agricultural biomass, such as rice husk (RH), is a renewable source of bioenergy. However, a large amount of RH ash (RHA) is generated after the thermal conversion of RH. The main component of RHA is silica (>85 wt%). This study used recyclable RHA as a mesoporous SBA-15 template source. Next, ordered mesoporous carbon/ graphene oxide (RH-CMK-3/GO) composites were synthesized through the direct carbonization of GO, sucrose, and an SBA-15 template. Experimental data demonstrated that GO was successfully conjugated on the surface of CMK-3. The RH-CMK-3/GO exhibited a highly ordered mesostructure, which was not affected by the incorporation of GO. Compared with bare RH-CMK-3, the RH-CMK-3/GO had an enhanced surface area and pore volume. The composite exhibited a highest pore volume of 1.143 cm 3/g, a surface area of 1138 m2/g, and a pore diameter of 3.68 nm. The RH-CMK-3/GO revealed a higher ability for the adsorption of rhodamine B (RhB) than did the SBA-15, SBA-15/GO, and pure CMK-3 materials. The removal of RhB increased with increases in the composite dosage, solution pH and temperature, and carbonization temperature and time and a decrease in the initial RhB concentration. Moreover, the RH-CMK-3/GO exhibited a highest removal efficiency of 100%. The thermodynamics, kinetics, and isotherm adsorption data for the RH-CMK-3/GO composite exhibited satisfactory fitting for the endothermic, pseudo-second-order, and Langmuir models, respectively. Moreover, the composite exhibited good reusability. These results suggest that RHA can be effective for the fabrication of valuable mesoporous carbon nanocomposites and the elimination of organic contaminants from wastewater.