scholarly journals Effects of Wet Oxidation Process on Biochar Surface in Acid and Alkaline Soil Environments

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinya Fan ◽  
Liqiang Cui ◽  
Guixiang Quan ◽  
Sanfei Wang ◽  
Jianxiong Sun ◽  
...  

Biochar has been studied for remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils by many researchers. When in external conditions, biochar in soils ages, which can transform its structural properties and adsorption capacity. This study was conducted with two oxidation processes, HNO3/H2SO4 and NaOH/H2O2, to simulate the effects of biochar in acid and alkaline soil conditions. The results show that the oxygen-containing functional groups increased in aged biochar, which led to improve the ratio of oxygen and carbon (O/C). Nitro functional groups were found in the acid-oxidation treated biochar. Destroyed ditches and scars were observed on the surface of aged biochar and resulted in growth in their specific surface area and porosity. Specific surface area increased by 21.1%, 164.9%, and 63.0% for reed-derived biochar treated with water washing, acid oxidation, and basic oxidation, respectively. Greater peaks in the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) results were found in C–O and O–H on the surface of field-aged biochar. Meanwhile, mappings of energy-dispersive spectroscopy showed that biochar aged in soil was abundant in minerals such as silicon, iron, aluminum, and magnesium. In summary, biochar subjected to wet oxidation aging had an increased capacity to immobilize Cd compared to unaged biochar, and the adsorption capacity of oxidized biochar increased by 28.4% and 13.15% compared to unaged biochar due to improvements in porosity and an increase in functional groups.

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (16) ◽  
pp. 7419-7427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanjun Mu ◽  
Mei Li ◽  
Xingliang Li ◽  
Zongping Ma ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
...  

The hexagonal WO3 nanowires prepared with the assistance of C2H10N·H2SO4 possess a large specific surface area and numerous adsorption functional groups, consequently improving the Sr2+ adsorption capacity considerably.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Velma Beri Kimbi Yaah ◽  
Satu Ojala ◽  
Hamza Khallok ◽  
Tiina Laitinen ◽  
Marcin Selent ◽  
...  

This paper presents results related to the development of a carbon composite intended for water purification. The aim was to develop an adsorbent that could be regenerated using light leading to complete degradation of pollutants and avoiding the secondary pollution caused by regeneration. The composites were prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of palm kernel shells, TiO2, and W followed by activation at 400 °C under N2 flow. To evaluate the regeneration using light, photocatalytic experiments were carried out under UV-A, UV-B, and visible lights. The materials were thoroughly characterized, and their performance was evaluated for diclofenac removal. A maximum of 74% removal was observed with the composite containing TiO2, carbon, and W (HCP25W) under UV-B irradiation and non-adjusted pH (~5). Almost similar results were observed for the material that did not contain tungsten. The best results using visible light were achieved with HCP25W providing 24% removal of diclofenac, demonstrating the effect of W in the composite. Both the composites had significant amounts of oxygen-containing functional groups. The specific surface area of HCP25W was about 3 m2g−1, while for HCP25, it was 160 m2g−1. Increasing the specific surface area using a higher activation temperature (600 °C) adversely affected diclofenac removal due to the loss of the surface functional groups. Regeneration of the composite under UV-B light led to a complete recovery of the adsorption capacity. These results show that TiO2- and W-containing carbon composites are interesting materials for water treatment and they could be regenerated using photocatalysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-144
Author(s):  
Chunjiang Jin ◽  
Huimin Chen ◽  
Luyuan Wang ◽  
Xingxing Cheng ◽  
Donghai An ◽  
...  

In this study, aspen wood sawdust was used as the raw material, and Fe(NO3)3 and CO2 were used as activators. Activated carbon powder (ACP) was produced by the one-step physicochemical activation method in an open vacuum tube furnace. The effects of different mass ratios of Fe(NO3)3 and aspen wood sawdust on the pore structure of ACP were examined under single-variable experimental conditions. The mass ratio was 0–0.4. The detailed characteristics of ACP were examined by nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption capacity of ACP was established by simulating volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using ethyl acetate. The results showed that ACP has a good nanostructure with a large pore volume, specific surface area, and surface functional groups. The pore volume and specific surface area of Fe-AC-0.3 were 0.26 cm3/g and 455.36 m2/g, respectively. The activator played an important role in the formation of the pore structure and morphology of ACP. When the mass ratio was 0–0.3, the porosity increased linearly, but when it was higher than 0.3, the porosity decreased. For example, the pore volume and specific surface area of Fe-AC-0.4 reached 0.24 cm3/g and 430.87 m2/g, respectively. ACP presented good VOC adsorption performance. The Fe-AC-0.3 sample, which contained the most micropore structures, presented the best adsorption capacity for ethyl acetate at 712.58 mg/g. Under the action of the specific reaction products nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygen, the surface of modified ACP samples showed different rich C/O/N surface functional groups, including C-H, C=C, C=O, C-O-C, and C-N.


Biochar ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene C. Ndoun ◽  
Herschel A. Elliott ◽  
Heather E. Preisendanz ◽  
Clinton F. Williams ◽  
Allan Knopf ◽  
...  

Abstract Biochars produced from cotton gin waste (CG) and guayule bagasse (GB) were characterized and explored as potential adsorbents for the removal of pharmaceuticals (sulfapyridine-SPY, docusate-DCT and erythromycin-ETM) from aqueous solution. An increase in biochar pyrolysis temperature from 350 οC to 700 οC led to an increase in pH, specific surface area, and surface hydrophobicity. The electronegative surface of all tested biochars indicated that non-Coulombic mechanisms were involved in adsorption of the anionic or uncharged pharmaceuticals under experimental conditions. The adsorption capacities of Sulfapyridine (SPY), Docusate (DCT) and Erythromycin (ETM) on biochar were influenced by the contact time and solution pH, as well as biochar specific surface area and functional groups. Adsorption of these pharmaceutical compounds was dominated by a complex interplay of three mechanisms: hydrophobic partitioning, hydrogen bonding and π–π electron donor–acceptor (EDA) interactions. Despite weaker π–π EDA interactions, reduced hydrophobicity of SPY− and increased electrostatic repulsion between anionic SPY− and the electronegative CG biochar surface at higher pH, the adsorption of SPY unexpectedly increased from 40% to 70% with an increase in pH from 7 to 10. Under alkaline conditions, adsorption was dominated by the formation of strong negative charge-assisted H-bonding between the sulfonamide moiety of SPY and surface carboxylic groups. There seemed to be no appreciable and consistent differences in the extent of DCT and ETM adsorption as the pH changed. Results suggest the CG and GB biochars could act as effective adsorbents for the removal of pharmaceuticals from reclaimed water prior to irrigation. High surface area biochars with physico-chemical properties (e.g., presence of functional groups, high cation and anion exchange capacities) conducive to strong interactions with polar-nonpolar functionality of pharmaceuticals could be used to achieve significant contaminant removal from water. Graphic Abstract


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (23) ◽  
pp. 5249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derlin Hsu ◽  
Changyi Lu ◽  
Tairan Pang ◽  
Yuanpeng Wang ◽  
Guanhua Wang

Chemically activated biochars prepared from sorghum distillers grain using two base activators (NaOH and KOH) were investigated for their adsorption properties with respect to ammonium nitrogen from aqueous solution. Detailed characterizations, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), and specific surface area analyses, were carried out to offer a broad evaluation of the prepared biochars. The results showed that the NaOH- and KOH-activated biochars exhibited significantly enhanced adsorption capacity, by 2.93 and 4.74 times, respectively, in comparison with the pristine biochar. Although the NaOH-activated biochar possessed larger specific surface area (132.8 and 117.7 m2/g for the NaOH- and KOH-activated biochars, respectively), the KOH-activated biochar had higher adsorption capacity owing to its much higher content of functional groups. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms of the KOH-activated biochar at different temperatures were further studied. The biochar had a maximum adsorption capacity of 14.34 mg/g at 45 °C, which was satisfactory compared with other biochars prepared using different feedstocks. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, and chemical adsorption was the rate-controlling step. The equilibrium data were consistent with the Freundlich isotherm, and the thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Consequently, this work demonstrates that chemically activated biochar from sorghum distillers grain is effective for ammonium nitrogen removal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 850 ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Hoc Thang Nguyen ◽  
Phong Thanh Dang

Diatomite or diatomaceous earth (DE) is one of materials which can be used as an adsorbent to treat heavy metal ions from waste water, even there are many factories used it to clean the water for drinking. However, natural DE (raw DE) has very low adsorption capacity because of low specific surface area. In this work, natural DE from Lam Dong province, Viet Nam was demagnetized to remove iron and activated by HCl solution for 90 minutes with concentration of 10% at room condition. Adsorbent capacity was evaluated using As solution and the results show that the activated diatomite has adsorption capacity three times higher than that of raw DE, and the specific surface area of activated diatomite was increased 47.5% with the main chemical composition of 90.8% SiO2 and high porosity


Fibers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyna Ojeda-López ◽  
J. Marcos Esparza-Schulz ◽  
Isaac J. Pérez-Hermosillo ◽  
Armin Hernández-Gordillo ◽  
Armando Domínguez-Ortiz

Carbon microfibers (CMF) has been used as an adsorbent material for CO2 and CH4 capture. The gas adsorption capacity depends on the chemical and morphological structure of CMF. The CMF physicochemical properties change according to the applied stabilization and carbonization temperatures. With the aim of studying the effect of stabilization temperature on the structural properties of the carbon microfibers and their CO2 and CH4 adsorption capacity, four different stabilization temperatures (250, 270, 280, and 300 °C) were explored, maintaining a constant carbonization temperature (900 °C). In materials stabilized at 250 and 270 °C, the cyclization was incomplete, in that, the nitrile groups (triple-bond structure, e.g., C≡N) were not converted to a double-bond structure (e.g., C=N), to form a six-membered cyclic pyridine ring, as a consequence the material stabilized at 300 °C resulting in fragile microfibers; therefore, the most appropriate stabilization temperature was 280 °C. Finally, to corroborate that the specific surface area (microporosity) is not the determining factor that influences the adsorption capacity of the materials, carbonization of polyacrylonitrile microfibers (PANMFs) at five different temperatures (600, 700, 800, 900, and 1000 °C) is carried, maintaining a constant temperature of 280 °C for the stabilization process. As a result, the CMF chemical composition directly affects the CO2 and CH4 adsorption capacity, even more directly than the specific surface area. Thus, the chemical variety can be useful to develop carbon microfibers with a high adsorption capacity and selectivity in materials with a low specific surface area. The amount adsorbed at 25 °C and 1.0 bar oscillate between 2.0 and 2.9 mmol/g adsorbent for CO2 and between 0.8 and 2.0 mmol/g adsorbent for CH4, depending on the calcination treatment applicated; these values are comparable with other material adsorbents of greenhouse gases.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 200079
Author(s):  
Yanlong Li ◽  
Hongxi Li ◽  
Rundong Li ◽  
Xin Su ◽  
Shengqiang Shen

Boron nitride, also known as white graphene, has attracted extensive attention in the fields of adsorption, catalysis and hydrogen storage due to its excellent chemical properties. In this study, a phosphorus-doped boron nitride (P-BN) material was successfully prepared using red phosphorus as a dopant for the preparation of porous boron nitride precursors. The phosphorus content in the P-BN was adjusted based on the addition rate of phosphorus. The specific surface area of P-BN first increased and then decreased with increasing addition rate of phosphorus. The maximum specific surface area was 837.8 m 2 g −1 when the phosphorus addition rate was 0.50. The P-BN prepared in the experiments was used as an adsorbent, and its adsorption capacity for heavy metals from flue gas was investigated. In particular, P-BN presented a stronger adsorption selectivity for zinc compared with other heavy metals, and its adsorption capacity for zinc was 5–38 times higher than for other heavy metals. The maximum adsorption capacity of P-BN for zinc and copper in a single heavy metal atmosphere was 69.45 and 53.80 mg g −1 , respectively.


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