Comparative Study of Biochar Modified with Different Functional Groups for Efficient Removal of Pb(II) and Ni(II)

Chengcheng Liu, Jiaxin Lin, Haojia Chen, Wanjun Wang () and Yan Yang ()
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Chengcheng Liu: School of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
Jiaxin Lin: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Haojia Chen: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Wanjun Wang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yan Yang: School of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: The potential application of biochar in water treatment is attracting interest due to its sustainability and low production cost. In the present study, H 3 PO 4 -modified porous biochar (H-PBC), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-modified porous biochar (E-PBC), and NaOH-modified porous biochar (O-PBC) were prepared for Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption in an aqueous solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the as-obtained samples, and their capacities for Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption were determined. SEM showed that H-PBC retained the hierarchical porous structure of pristine biochar. FT-IR showed that H-PBC possessed abundant oxygen-containing and phosphorus-containing functional groups on the surface. BET analysis demonstrated that the surface areas of H-PBC (344.17 m 2 /g) was higher than O-PBC (3.66 m 2 /g), and E-PBC (1.64 m 2 /g), respectively. H-PBC, E-PBC, and O-PBC all exhibited excellent performance at Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption with maximum adsorption capacity of 64.94 mg/g, 47.17 mg/g, and 60.24 mg/g, and 243.90 mg/g, 156.25 mg/g, and 192.31 mg/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than the adsorption capacity (19.80 mg/g and 38.31 mg/g) of porous biochar (PBC). Pseudo-second order models suggested that the adsorption process was controlled by chemical adsorption. After three regeneration cycles, the Ni(II) and Pb(II) removal efficiency with H-PBC were still 49.8% and 56.3%. The results obtained in this study suggest that H-PBC is a promising adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions.

Keywords: adsorption; modified biochar; corn stalk; Ni(II); Pb(II) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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