Preparation and Characterization of Novel Magnesium Composite/Walnut Shells-Derived Biochar for As and P Sorption from Aqueous Solutions

Vladimír Frišták, Martin Pipíška, Vladimír Turčan, Stephen M. Bell, Haywood Dail Laughinghouse, Libor Ďuriška and Gerhard Soja
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Vladimír Frišták: Department of Chemistry, Trnava University in Trnava, 91843 Trnava, Slovakia
Martin Pipíška: Department of Chemistry, Trnava University in Trnava, 91843 Trnava, Slovakia
Vladimír Turčan: Department of Chemistry, Trnava University in Trnava, 91843 Trnava, Slovakia
Stephen M. Bell: Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
Haywood Dail Laughinghouse: Agronomy Department, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida-IFAS, Davie, FL 33314, USA
Libor Ďuriška: Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, 91724 Trnava, Slovakia
Gerhard Soja: Energy Department, Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, 3430 Tulln, Austria

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Elevated or unnatural levels of arsenic (As) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in soils and waterbodies from anthropogenic sources can present significant hazards for both natural ecosystems and human food production. Effective, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive materials, such as biochar, are needed to reduce mobility and bioavailability of As and P. While biochar features several physicochemical properties that make it an ideal contaminant sorbent, certain modifications such as mineral-impregnation can improve sorption efficiencies for targeted compounds. Here, we conducted sorption experiments to investigate and quantify the potential utility of magnesium (Mg) for improving biochar sorption efficiency of P and As. We synthesized a Mg-modified walnut shells-derived biochar and characterized its ability to remove As and P from aqueous solutions, thereby mitigating losses of valuable P when needed while, at the same time, immobilizing hazardous As in ecosystems. SEM-EDX, FTIR and elemental analysis showed morphological and functional changes of biochar and the formation of new Mg-based composites (MgO, MgOHCl) responsible for improved sorption potential capacity by 10 times for As and 20 times for P. Sorption efficiency was attributed to improved AEC, higher SSA, chemical forms of sorbates and new sorption site formations. Synthetized Mg-composite/walnut shell-derived biochar also removed >90% of P from real samples of wastewater, indicating its potential suitability for contaminated waterbody remediation.

Keywords: biochar; phosphorus; arsenic; sorption; Mg-impregnation; chemical modification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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