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Utilization of biochar (BC) as a low cost adsorbent for water remediation has gained an immense research
interest due to their surface functionality and porosity. Although many reports on the BC based sorptive removal
of Sulfonamides (SA) and Tetracyclines (TC) are available in literature, a deep insight into sorption mechanisms
is yet to be reviewed. Objective of this review is to fill the research gap of a methodological understanding of
sorption mechanisms and characteristics which is essential to develop efficient methods for contaminant removal. The most common adsorption mechanism can be considered as electron donor-acceptor interactions of
electron withdrawing moieties with surface arene rings. The strongest adsorption of both antibiotics occurs at
mildly acidic pH where the dominant species are zwitterionic or cationic. Smaller SAs exhibit micro pore-filling
effects while bulky TCs experience size exclusions. Furthermore, the effect of matrix components and modifications are also been taken into account.
