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Resource utilization of agricultural residues: one-step preparation of biochar derived from Pennisetum giganteum for efficiently removing chromium from water in a wide pH range

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Abstract

Biochars derived from agricultural residues, Pennisetum giganteum, were prepared by a one-step activation method after impregnated with H3PO4. The effects of activation temperature and the H3PO4 impregnation method on the structure and performance of biochar were investigated. The characterization results of XPS, FTIR, and N2 adsorption-desorption showed that the P-containing biochar prepared by the one-step method had a large specific surface area, large pores, and abundant surface functional groups. And, the groups including C-P, O-P, and C-O participated in the adsorption of Cr(VI). Moreover, the target adsorbent has a good removal effect on Cr (VI) in a wide range of pH. The Cr(VI) removal efficiency was more than 55.92% at pH≤9. Interestingly, the adsorption results also showed that the adsorbent could offer acid groups for regulating the pH of the bulk solution and thus keep the adsorption surroundings in a narrow pH range. In addition, the target adsorbent has been proved to have good selective removal of Cr(VI). Even after repeated use for 5 times, the removal capacity of Cr(VI) is still 77.4%. This work provides a simple scheme for the high-value utilization of Pennisetum agricultural solid waste, and also confirms that the biochar activated by phosphoric acid can effectively remove Cr(VI) in the solution with wide pH range.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].

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Funding

This work is co-supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21968014), the Analysis and Testing Foundation of Kunming University of Science and Technology (No.2019M2018220705), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFC1902105, 2018YFC1902102, and 2018YFC1902101).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China

    Yao Chen, Rongrong Miao & Qingqing Guan

  2. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China

    Yao Chen, Ping Ning & Rongrong Miao

  3. Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, China

    Liang He

Authors
  1. Yao Chen
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  2. Ping Ning
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  3. Rongrong Miao
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  4. Liang He
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  5. Qingqing Guan
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Contributions

Chen Yao: conceptualization, validation, formal analysis, data curation, writing the original draft. Ning Ping: supervision, project administration, funding acquisition. Miao Rongrong: draft modification. He Liang: investigation, methodology, writing—review and editing. Guan Qingqing: supervision, project administration, funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Ping Ning, Liang He or Qingqing Guan.

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Chen, ., Ning, P., Miao, R. et al. Resource utilization of agricultural residues: one-step preparation of biochar derived from Pennisetum giganteum for efficiently removing chromium from water in a wide pH range. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 69381–69392 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15388-y

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