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Recycling of Tannery (chrome) sludge into sludge biochar (SB) /TiO2 nanocomposite via chemical activation through hydrothermal pre-treatment

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Abstract

The preparation of biochar from Tannery (chrome) sludge has gained recent attention among many scientists globally. Hydrothermal pre-treatment method was adopted to load TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of sludge biochar to develop a safe, low-cost, and novel nanocomposite. Chemical activation of sludge with KOH solution for 48 h was done before pyrolyzing the sludge to produce biochar. This novel c-SB/TiO2 nanocomposite exhibits a higher surface area of 636.23 m2/g when compared with the sludge biochar/TiO2 nanocomposite without chemical activation. The present research work mainly focuses on the synthesis and investigation of structural properties of c-SB/TiO2 nanocomposite prepared by hydrothermal pre-treatment. The morphological and structural properties of sludge biochar/TiO2 nanocomposite were identified by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The porosity of the nanocomposite was investigated using a BET surface area analyser. The Thermal decomposition and surface functional group was identified using TGA, FT-IR, PL and Raman spectrophotometer, respectively. c-SB/TiO2 nanocomposite was used to degrade Cr (VI) by varying its initial concentration, catalyst dosage and initial pH. Results indicate that c-SB/TiO2 nanocomposite shows an enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation. Further, it was found that under optimal conditions of 10 mg/L of pollutant concentration, pH of 2 and catalyst dosage of 0.3 g/L, degradation efficiency of 98.65% Cr (VI) has been achieved for a reaction time of 180 min. Additionally, COD measurement shows a 69.4% reduction for a reaction time of 180 min, which is found to be more recalcitrant under photocatalytic activity.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to TEQIP III CoE-ES for providing us with all the facilities and equipment required to carry out our research work in a successful way.

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  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641013, India

    Mohanapriya Velumani & Jeyanthi Jeyadharmarajan

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  1. Mohanapriya Velumani
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Velumani, M., Jeyadharmarajan, J. Recycling of Tannery (chrome) sludge into sludge biochar (SB) /TiO2 nanocomposite via chemical activation through hydrothermal pre-treatment. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 24, 2255–2269 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01483-w

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