Removal of p-Nitrophenol Using Persulfate Activated by Biochars Prepared from Different Biomass Materials

Three biochars from wheat straw(WSC), chicken manure(CMC) and rice husk(RHC) were prepared as persulfate(PS) activators for p-nitropheol(PNP) removal. RHC exhibitted the best adsorption performance, followed by WSC and CMC, which was consistant with the surface area value. PS addition further promoted the PNP removal, indicating that a synergistic effect existed in the biochar/PS combined system. The composition and textual properties of biochar had a significant effect on the reactivity of activator and the function groups containing oxgygen or nitrogen might play important roles in the reaction. WSC could perform efficiently over a pH range from 4.4 to 10.4. The decrease in activation performance in cycle experiments was possiblely related to the loss of oxgygen-containing groups.     

Adsorption-reduction performance of tea waste and rice husk biochars for Cr(VI) elimination from wastewater

In the current study tea waste and rice husk biochars were used for the elimination of Cr(VI) from wastewater with the objectives to study the effect of pH (3–10), shaking time (0.016–24 h), sorbent dose (0.1–1.3 g L⁻¹) and initial concentration of Cr(VI) (10–250 mg L⁻¹). The Cr(VI) sorption was studied under various factors in which solution pH played a main role and at pH 5.2, maximum 99.3% and 96.8% Cr(VI) were removed by tea waste biochar (TWB) and rice husk biochar (RHB), respectively. In comparison, 197.5 mg g⁻¹ and 195.24 mg g⁻¹ Cr(VI) were sorbed by TWB and RHB, respectively with 120 mg L⁻¹ initial Cr(VI) concentration. In contact time study, after 2 h, equilibrium was achieved for both biochars which indicated that the Cr(VI) elimination from aqueous medium is a fast process. Kinetic and isotherm modeling data showed that pseudo-second order model and Langmuir (monolayer sorption) models provided the best fit for sorption of Cr(VI) onto both biochars. The –OH, COO– and –NH₂ functional groups were involved in the sorption of Cr(VI) onto biochars according to FTIR. Biochars produced from both biomass effectively removed Cr(VI) from polluted water, however in comparison sorption capacity of TWB was slightly higher than RHB. It was concluded that TWB and RHB could provide a cost-effective and viable option for elimination of Cr(VI) from wastewater.     

不同生物炭材料的制备及其在Li-S电池中的应用

Biochar derived from reproducible massive biomasses presents the advantages of low cost and renewable resources. In this work aiming to solve the existing problems of the lithium-sulfur battery, sulfur@biochar (S@biochar) composite cathode materials with high capacity and good cycle performance were developed. Specifically, four kinds of biochar prepared from rice husk, miscanthus, fir, and pomelo peel were used as host matrices for the Li-S battery. Among them, the S@biochar derived from rice husk delivered the highest specific capacity and the best cycle stability according to electrochemical tests. To further optimize its performance, we prepared a highly porous rice husk derived biochar (HPRH-biochar) using silica gel as the template. The S@HPRH-biochar composite (60% (w, mass fraction) S) enables the homogeneous dispersion of amorphous sulfur in the carbon matrix and its porous structure could effectively suppress the dissolution of the polysulfide. As a result, its electrochemical performance improved, achieving a high initial charge capacity of 1534.1 mAh·g^-1 and maintaining a high capacity of 738.7 mAh·g^-1 after 100 cycles at 0.2C (1C corresponds to a current density of 1675 mA·g^-1). It also gives a capacity of 485.3 mAh·g^-1 at 2.0C in the rate capacity test.     

Elucidating dominant factors of PO43-, Cd2+ and nitrobenzene removal by biochar: A comparative investigation based on distinguishable biochars

Four distinct biochars were employed to remove three typical pollutants, meanwhile, path analysis, a multi-statistical regression method, was performed to elucidate the dominant factors of biochar adsorption. This work can provide a new insight to prepare a targeted biochar as adsorbents.     

Optimizing pyrolysis temperature of contaminated rice straw biochar: Heavy metal(loid) deportment,properties evolution,and Pb adsorption/immobilization

Pyrolysis of rice straw (RS), a popular method for producing biochar, effectively treats heavy metal(loid)-contaminated RS. Here, we carried out this process at different temperatures and investigated the deportment of heavy metal(loid)s and the property evolution of biochars. Also, the optimal pyrolysis temperature for Pb adsorption and immobilization was studied. We observed that increasing the temperature could volatilize the heavy metal(loid)s. Cd was the most volatile metal therein, followed by As, while Ni, Cu, and Pb were relatively refractory. More than 75% of the remaining heavy metal(loid)s were non-exchangeable fractions at 700 °C, significantly reducing the environmental risk during subsequent application. Meanwhile, higher pyrolysis temperature resulted in higher pH values, higher surface areas, and stronger Pb adsorption capacity of RS biochars. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q_m) of biochars was in the order of BC300 (77.2 mg·g^?1) < BC500 (137.2 mg·g^?1) < BC700 (222.6 mg·g^?1). Besides, high-temperature biochar could significantly reduce the vertical Pb migration. And BC700 increased the fraction of residual Pb from 39.7% to 44.0% in the soil under the acid rain leaching condition. Therefore, we propose that the heavy metal(loid)-contaminated RS biochar produced at 700 °C might be more suitable for the remediation of soil heavily polluted in the Pb-smelting area.     

Tailoring biochar by PHP towards the oxygenated functional groups (OFGs)-rich surface to improve adsorption performance

In this work, a modification method of H₃PO₄ plus H₂O₂ (PHP) was introduced to targetedly form abundant oxygenated functional groups (OFGs) on biochar, and methylene blue (MB) was employed as a model pollutant for adsorption to reflect the modification performance. Results indicated that parent biochars, especially derived from lower temperatures, substantially underwent oxidative modification by PHP, and OFGs were targetedly produced. Correspondingly, approximately 21.5-fold MB adsorption capacity was achieved by PHP-modified biochar comparing with its parent biochar. To evaluate the compatibility of PHP-modification, coefficient of variation (CV) based on MB adsorption capacity by the biochar from various precursors was calculated, in which the CV of PHP-modified biochars was 0.0038 comparing to 0.64 of the corresponding parent biochars. These results suggested that the PHP method displayed the excellent feedstock compatibility on biochar modification. The maximum MB adsorption capacity was 454.1 mg/g when the H₃PO₄ and H₂O₂ fraction in PHP were 65.2% and 7.0%; the modification was further intensified by promoting temperature and duration. Besides, average 94.5% H₃PO₄ was recovered after 10-batch modification, implying 1.0 kg H₃PO₄ (85%) in PHP can maximally modify 2.37 kg biochar. Overall, this work offered a novel method to tailor biochar towards OFGs-rich surface for efficient adsorption.     

Comparison of 17β-Estradiol Adsorption on Corn Straw- and Dewatered Sludge-Biochar in Aqueous Solutions

Removal of steroid hormones from aqueous environment is of prevailing concern because of their adverse impact on organisms. Using biochar derived from biomass as adsorbent to remove pollutants has become more popular due to its low cost, effectiveness, and sustainability. This study evaluated the feasibility of applying corn straw biochar (CSB) and dewatered sludge biochar (DSB) to reduce 17β-estradiol (E2) from aquatic solutions by adsorption. The experimental results showed that the adsorption kinetics and isotherm behavior of E2 on the two biochars were well described by the pseudo-second-order (R² > 0.93) and Langmuir models (R² > 0.97). CSB has higher E2 adsorption capacity than DSB, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 99.8 mg/g obtained from Langmuir model at 298 K, which can be attributed to the higher surface area, porosity, and hydrophobicity of this adsorbent. Higher pH levels (>10.2) decreased the adsorption capacities of biochar for E2, while the ionic strength did not significantly affect the adsorption process. The regeneration ability of CSB was slightly better than that of DSB. The possible adsorption mechanism for E2 on biochar is suggested as π–π interactions, H–bonding, and micropores filling. These results indicated that CSB has more potential and application value than DSB on reducing E2 from aqueous solutions when considering economy and removal performance.     

A review on adsorption mediated phosphate removal and recovery by biomatrices

Low cost biosorbents have gained considerable importance in the past decade for their removal efficiency of contaminants from wastewaters. Both removal and recycle of the phosphate anion through benign methods are relevant to sustain a steady balance. An attempt has been made to give a comprehensive insight into several physico-chemical factors leading to the adsorption process by various natural biosorbents. Few important facts regarding phosphate biosorption have emerged out as key points viz., pH < pHpzc, high uptake capacity; correlation with Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo second order kinetics; decrease of uptake capacity with longer contact time; enhancement of adsorption process in presence of counter ions, etc. Also, it was noted that the adsorbate: adsorbent ratio is crucial for the removal efficiency of the phosphate ions. A few biosorbents exhibit removal efficiency to a large extent (>95%) although even higher adsorption capacity can be obtained by the modification of the adsorbents. Commercial biomatrices like biochars have shown wide applications for removal of phosphates. Magnetic biochars have shown special performance owing to the presence of iron and a porous nature of their structure. Desorption studies revealed that almost complete recovery of the phosphate ion is possible through simple ion exchange mechanism.     

Elucidating dominant factors of PO43–, Cd2+ and nitrobenzene removal by biochar: A comparative investigation based on distinguishable biochars

Biochars produced from crab shell (CSB), oak sawdust (OB), Jerusalem artichoke tuber (JAB) and sorghum grain (SB) displayed distinguishable adsorption-related characteristics, such as specific surface area (SSA), ash content and acidic oxygen-containing functional groups (AFGs), which linked to the biochar adsorption mechanisms of most pollutants. Herein, PO₄^3–, Cd²⁺, and nitrobenzene (NB) were employed for adsorption by these biochars to elucidate the dominant factors for the adsorption. Adsorption performance of the three pollutants onto these four biochars varied considerably, as exemplified by the excellent adsorption of PO₄^3– and Cd²⁺ onto CSB (225.3 and 116.0 mg/g, respectively) as compared with onto the other three biochars (4.2–37.1 mg/g for PO₄^3– and 9.7–41.0 mg/g for Cd²⁺). OB displayed the best adsorption of NB (72.0 mg/g), followed by SB (39.5 mg/g), JAB (31.1 mg/g), and CSB (23.6 mg/g). The kinetics and isotherm adsorption assessments couple with material characterization suggested that the sorption of selected pollutants on biochars was attributed to the multiple mechanisms involved, including coprecipitation, chemical bonds, cation exchange, physical absorption, and complexation. Further path analysis suggested that AFGs and ash content in biochars were more important than SSA with regards to pollutant removal, especially, with ash playing a crucial role in the removal of Cd²⁺ and PO₄^3–, and AFGs being mainly responsible for NB adsorption. These findings might offer guidance on the preparation or modification of biochar with a targeted function for pollutant removal through an understanding the dominant factors.     

Analysis of the role of various biochar in the remediation of heavy metals in contaminated water and its kinetics study

Biochar prepared from agricultural wastes has gained great attention as a cost-effective treatment for metal-contaminated water. In this study, the effectiveness of corn cob and sugarcane bagasse-derived biochar for metals (Pb, Ni, and Cu) removal from an aqueous medium was examined following their physical, chemical, and structural characterization. Batch sorption experiments were carried out by employing the Langmuir and Freundlich equations. The results indicated that separation factor (R_L) values lay in the range of 0 and 1 representing the productive adsorption. The optimum dosage for metal adsorption can be recommended as 30 g L^?1. The optimum adsorption conditions were found at 6.5 and 5.5 pH, 1.5 g adsorbent dose, and at 180 min equilibrium time, for both corn cob and sugarcane bagasse biochars. At pH 6.5, adsorption capacities of Pb, Ni, and Cu were found maximum i.e., 11.34, 15.71, and 11.96 mg kg^?1 for corn cob and 8.96, 15.46, and 12 mg kg^?1, for sugarcane bagasse biochars, respectively. The metal adsorption kinetics was analyzed via four different types of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the corn cob biochar showed a more pronounced activity in the removal of metals compared to sugarcane bagasse biochar. Hence, it was concluded that corncob and sugarcane bagasse-derived biochars could be utilized as economical bio-adsorbents for the heavy metals removal from wastewater.     

Effect of various environmental factors on the adsorption of U(VI) onto biochar derived from rice straw

Herein, we used biochar pyrolyzed from rice straw to adsorb uranium (U) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of U(VI) on biochar was strongly dependent on pH but independent on ionic strength. HA/FA enhanced the sorption at pH <6.8 while inhibited the sorption at pH >6.8. The sorption reached equilibrium within 3 h, which was not mediated by pH. The adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic, and enhanced at higher temperature. However, the influence of temperature was negligible at low initial U(VI) concentrations. Therefore, biochar derived from rice straw may be a promising adsorbent for the removal of U(VI).

     

Characterization of rice husks and the products of its thermal degradation in air or nitrogen atmosphere

Rice husk is a by-product of rice milling process and are a major waste product of the agricultural industry. They have now become a great source as a raw biomass material for manufacturing value-added silicon composite products, including silicon carbide, silicon nitride, silicon tetrachloride, pure silicon, zeolite, fillers of rubber and plastic composites, adsorbent and support of catalysts. The bulk and true densities of raw rice husk with different moisture and sizes were determined. The rice husk was subjected to pyrolysis in fluidized-bed reactor in air or nitrogen atmosphere. The products obtained were characterized by thermogravimetric and X-ray powder analysis, IR-spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. The specific surface area of the products is comparable with this of γ-Al₂O₃. The kinetics of H₂SeO₃ adsorption out of aqueous solutions at 298 K was studied. The adsorption capacity of white rice husks ash was found to be higher than that of black rice husk ash and the adsorption kinetics obeyed the second order kinetic equation.     

Removal of Congo red from aqueous solutions by neem saw dust carbon

Neem sawdust was used to develop an effective carbon adsorbent. This adsorbent was used for the removal of Congo Red (CR) from aqueous solution. The data suggest that the pH of aqueous solutions influences CR removal due to the decrease of removal efficiency with increasing pH. An optimal pH < 3 for the adsorption of CR onto neem sawdust carbon (NSDC) was determined. The experimental data were analysed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Toth, Temkin, Sips and Dubinin-Radushkevich models of adsorption. Three simplified kinetic models based on pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion equations were used to describe the adsorption process. It was shown that the adsorption of CR could be described by the pseudo-second-order equation, suggesting that the adsorption occurs as a chemisorption process. The results indicate that the NSDC can be used as a low cost adsorbent alternative to commercial activated carbon for the removal of dyes from wastewaters.     

Engineered biochar modified with iron as a new adsorbent for treatment of water contaminated by selenium

The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient method of biochar modification for effective removal of Se(VI) ions from water. Commercially available biochar produced from wheat straw was impregnated by Fe(NO₃)₃ (0.8, 4 and 10% w/v) and pyrolyzed at 200 °C. Optimum pH, adsorption kinetics, and Se(VI) adsorption isotherms were determined for the studied biochars. The modification significantly increased biochar’s ability for Se(VI) adsorption. The biochar modified with 10% Fe(NO₃)₃ has the highest adsorption effectiveness. The experimentally determined maximum adsorption capacity for the biochar modified with 10% Fe(NO₃)₃ was 14.3 mg g⁻¹ for pH 5, which was the optimum pH value. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Photoacoustic Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS) investigation confirmed the presence of iron oxides/hydroxides on the surface of the modified biochar. The modification also resulted in the formation of oxygen containing functional groups. The study proved that the proposed modification can be efficient in increasing the biochar effectiveness in removing Se(VI) from water.     

Fixation capability of recycling materials as potential additives for cesium immobilization in contaminated forest soil

The fixation capability of cesium on five recycling materials was compared through two sets of sorption experiments using the materials mixed with and without soil. The estimated Freundlich constant K and the distribution of sorbed cesium on the materials revealed a general order of the fixation capability as carbonized sludge > coconut shell biochar > incinerated sewage sludge ash > rice husk biochar > slag. Parametric strong positive correlations were found existent between the fixation capability of cesium and the property-related indexes of the materials such as cation exchange capacity, organic matter content and the potassium concentration.

     

Separation of Pt(IV) from Industrial Wastewater Using Rice Husk Adsorbent and Its Derivatives

Some novel adsorbents were prepared by rice husk (RH). The esterified rice husk (RHS) was prepared by treating RH with anhydride of succinic acid to introduce carboxylic function to rice husk. This RHS was used to anchor various polyamines, viz., ethylenediamine (ED) and diethylenetriamine (DT) to prepare new adsorbents. These adsorbents were used to separate Pt(IV) from synthetic as well as industrial wastewaters. Adsorbents were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry. The selectivity order for Pt(IV) removal found was: RHS-DT > RHS-ED > RH > RHS. The Freundlich isotherm provided the high correlation (0.9750–0.9938) for the adsorption with low SSE (0.00215–0.00785) value of Pt(IV) for all the adsorbents. Among the kinetic models, pseudo-second order kinetic model was found to best fit with high correlation for all the adsorbents. The results of thermodynamic parameters suggest that the Pt(IV) adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. The maximum percentage of desorption of Pt(IV) metal ion was obtained when the reagent HCl–thiourea mixture was used as desorbing agent.     

Rice husk ash as an adsorbent for methylene blue—effect of ashing temperature

Utilization of one waste material to control pollution caused by another is of high significance in the remediation of environmental problems. Rice husk, an abundantly available agricultural waste, can be used as a low cost adsorbent for dyes and heavy metals in effluent streams. The possible utilization of rice husk ash as an adsorbent for methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions has been investigated. Ash samples from husks of two origins were prepared at different temperatures and their physical, chemical spectroscopic and morphological properties were determined. XRD, FTIR and SEM were some of the techniques adopted for the characterization. The samples were also analyzed for bulk density, pH, nitrogen adsorption properties and lime reactivity. Experiments of methylene blue adsorption on the ash samples were conducted using batch technique and a comparative study was made. Results were analyzed using linear, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The values of separation factor indicate that most of the ash samples do adsorb the dye molecules, but in varying quantities. Calcination at 900^∘C reduces the adsorption capacity of the ash to a great extent. Regression analysis shows that the experimental data fits both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms for certain concentration limits. The adsorbate species are most probably transported from the bulk of the solution into the solid phase through intra-particle diffusion process. Kinetics of adsorption was found to follow pseudo second order rate equation with R ²∼ 0.99. The highest adsorption capacity (Q ₀) achieved is found to be ∼690 mg/g, which is even higher than the values reported for activated carbon from rice husk. The adsorption capacity of the ash samples are in good agreement with their surface area and pore volume.     

Thermal degradation of rice husks on a pilot plant

This study is an attempt to establish the possibilities to obtain black rice husk ash (BRHA) and white rice husk ash (WRHA) via pyrolysis of wasted raw rice husks in a pilot plant fluidized-bed reactor at different conditions. The process course auto thermally, without outer fuel. The released heat may be used for steam obtaining or drying. The solid products obtained (BRHA or WRHA) are characterized using X-ray diffraction patterns, thermal analysis, and low temperature nitrogen adsorption. Using batch adsorption technique, the kinetics was studied and the adsorption capacities of crude oil and diesel fuel at different temperatures as well as some hydrocarbons at 298?K onto BRHA and WRHA are determined. It was established that BRHA have been higher adsorption capacity than WRHA. At a given temperature, BRHA sorbed more crude oil than diesel fuel. The results obtained showed that the material studied has high adsorption capacity and low cost and may successfully be used as an effective adsorbent to cleanup of bilge water and spills of oil and oil products in water basins. Because the saturated BRHA with crude oil, diesel fuel or different hydrocarbons are characterized with high calorific, they can be burnt in incinerators, industrial ovens or steam generators. By this way, we attain not only ecological but also economical effect.     

Removal of rhodamine B from aqueous solution via adsorption onto microwave-activated rice husk ash

The adsorption of rhodamine B (RhB) onto microwave-activated rice husk ash (ARHA) was conducted to demonstrate the capability of an inexpensive abundant biomaterial as an alternating bio-sorbent for the removal of dye residue from wastewater. Experimental data show that ARHA achieved the maximum adsorption capacity of 21.89 mg/g at pH 5.5 and 303 K. The absorption process was followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model and adsorption equilibrium data were well described by the Freundlich model. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the RhB adsorption onto ARHA was endothermic and spontaneous.     

Efficient production of nanoporous silicon carbide from rice husk at relatively low temperature

Nanoporous silicon carbide with a specific surface area of up to 186.45 m² g⁻¹ has been efficiently synthesized from waste rice husk using a magnesiothermic reduction at 950 °C as a key step. Throughout the entire process, the recovery rates of silicon, potassium and phosphorus from rice husk can reach 88.46, 91.5 and 65.5%, respectively. Turning rice husk waste into a real treasure, this promising method for producing porous SiC protects the environment and brings economic benefits.