The adsorption of phosphate (PO₄–P) is essential for controlling and reducing eutrophication. This study reports the synthesis of a new adsorbent material: Zr(IV)-loaded chitosan-modified used cork stopper biochar composite (CS–CBC–Zr) beads. The suitability of CS–CBC–Zr beads for PO₄–P removal was assessed using the batch method. The effects of various parameters were investigated, including zirconium loading level, adsorbent dosage, pH, co-anions, contact time, and the initial concentration of PO₄–P. The experimental data were thoroughly analyzed using adsorption kinetic and isotherm models. Virgin beads and P-adsorbed beads were characterized using FTIR, SEM, and XPS analyses. The results demonstrated that the combination of Zr coating and CS–CBC beads exhibited superior adsorption performance compared to individual CS–CBC beads. The CS–CBC–Zr beads exhibited a maximum adsorption capacity of 33.89 mg/g, as predicted using the Langmuir–Freundlich (Sips) model. The CS–CBC–Zr beads removed PO₄–P with an efficiency of 95% at an initial pollutant concentration of 50 mg/L and reached adsorption equilibrium within 120 min of contact time, outperforming some comparable adsorbents. Moreover, the beads achieved excellent PO₄–P removal performance over a wide pH range of 4–10, making them highly versatile. The experiment on the effect of coexisting anions demonstrated the excellent selectivity of CS–CBC–Zr for PO₄–P. Phosphate adsorption on CS–CBC–Zr fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Sips models. Kinetic data closely fitted the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting that adsorption was primarily governed by chemisorption.

This study examined the effect of study time, biochar dose, and fertilization-tillage system on the improvement of sandy loam physical-chemical properties and triticale grain yield. The soil properties (water holding capacity (WHC), wettability, moisture content (MC), organic matter content (SOM), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were monitored in short time intervals (after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months). Soil was tilled in two methods (shallow ploughless tillage and direct drilling), fertilized with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizers, and amended with three hydrophobic pine wood biochar doses (0 t/ha; 5 t/ha; 15 t/ha). It was found that 15 t/ha biochar dose had the highest effect on the soil’s physical-chemical properties improvement (SOM increased by 33.7%, pH—by 6.84%, EC—by 23.4%, WHC—by 8.48%, and MC—by 21.8%) compared to the variants without biochar. Direct drilling, fertilization with NPK fertilizers and 15 t/ha biochar dose significantly influenced the rise of soil’s physical-chemical properties and triticale yield (3.51 t/ha).