Biochar was prepared from corn ( Zea mays) stalks and impregnated with sulfuric acid. The biomass was impregnated for 24 h with a 50% solution of H2SO4 with impregnation ratios 1:2 (B 1:2) and 1:3 p/v (B 1:3); then, it was carbonized in a muffle furnace at 520°C for 30 min with a 10°C per min ramp. The adsorption capacity to remove anions (nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate) in an aqueous solution was evaluated by varying the temperature. The adsorption mechanism was studied by determining the thermodynamic parameters: Gibbs free energy (ΔGº), enthalpy (ΔHº) and entropy (ΔSº) standard. The biochars were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis and were found to exhibit a heterogeneous surface and porous nature, with C, O, S, and Si. The experiments in the batch system showed the best performance of B 1: 2 in the removal of the three anions occurred at 303 K, while B 1: 3 had the best performance at 298 K. From the thermodynamic parameters, it was found that the removal processes are endothermic, their mechanism is by chemisorption. It is concluded that synthesized biochar is an excellent alternative to removing nutrient anions present in the solution.

The availability of drinking water is one of the several problems humans face, considering that its availability is reduced to 0.80% of the existing fresh water. Then, coagulation-flocculation is a stage of this treatment. It is a process that agglomerates the suspended particles in a larger (floc) that could be separated by sedimentation and filtration processes to make the water drinkable. So, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of the dose of coagulant of yam starch ( Dioscorea rotundata) and the speed of agitation in the turbid water treatment process. For which the yam starch was extracted by implementing two methods which were NaOH and H2O, using centrifugation at 1500 rpm for 10 min, and adjusting the pH with HCl and NaOH 0.20 M, for later determining the effect of agitation speed (rpm) and coagulant concentration (ppm) on the percentage of turbidity removal, pH, and colour, to be compared with a synthetic coagulant. A yield of 42.60% was found in the wet base. The natural coagulants extracted with NaOH presented better turbidity removal, with a percentage of 92.48% at an agitation speed of 40 rpm and a concentration of 250 ppm. It can be concluded that natural yam coagulant can be recommended for use in the coagulation stage in the raw water treatment process for subsequent conversion to drinking water.