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Comparison of biochar- and activated carbon-supported zerovalent iron for the removal of Se(IV) and Se(VI): influence of pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter

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Abstract

Biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) were both produced from corn straw. Biochar-supported zerovalent iron (BC-ZVI) and activated carbon-supported zerovalent iron (AC-ZVI) were synthesized and applied for Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal. The sorption capacity of BC-ZVI for Se(IV) and Se(VI) was reported at 62.52 and 35.39 mg g−1, higher than that of AC-ZVI (56.02 and 33.24 mg g−1), respectively, due to its higher iron content and more positive charges. The spectroscopic analyses showed that Se(IV)/Se(VI) were reduced to Se(0)/Se(-II) of less toxicity and solubility. The effects of various factors such as pH, ionic strength, co-existing cations and anions, and natural organic matter (NOM) were also investigated. Ionic strength showed no significant effect on Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal, but pH was critical. The presence of NO3− and SO42− did not cause obvious inhibition to the removal, while PO43− inhibited the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI) significantly. Common cations (K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) were found to slightly enhance the removal, while NOM significantly decreased the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI). Besides, NOM showed stronger inhibition effect on AC-ZVI than that on BC-ZVI. These results indicated that BC-ZVI, compared with AC-ZVI, could be a promising sorbent to remove Se(IV)/Se(VI) due to its low cost and high efficiency.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51579003) and the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission (Discipline construction of watershed ecological engineering).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenzhen Engineering Research Center for Nanoporous Water Treatment Materials, School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Guangcai Tan, Yi Mao, Muhammad Junaid & Nan Xu

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Guangcai Tan

  3. UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resource Research, School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Yi Mao

  4. Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Hongyuan Wang

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  1. Guangcai Tan
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  4. Muhammad Junaid
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  5. Nan Xu
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Correspondence to Nan Xu.

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Tan, G., Mao, Y., Wang, H. et al. Comparison of biochar- and activated carbon-supported zerovalent iron for the removal of Se(IV) and Se(VI): influence of pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 21609–21618 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05497-0

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