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Removal performance and mechanisms of aqueous Cr (VI) by biochar derived from waste hazelnut shell

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Abstract

Cr (VI) is still of great concern due to its high toxicity, solubility, and mobility. The transformation of waste biomass to biochar is favorable for sustainable development. Hazelnut shell, an agriculture waste, was utilized as precursor to prepare biochar at 700 °C and firstly conducted for Cr (VI) removal. Nearly all 50 mg L−1 of Cr (VI) was removed from aqueous media in 180 min under the optimal conditions. The best compliance with pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999) and Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.999) indicated Cr (VI) removal was a monolayer chemisorption process. The hazelnut shell biochar exhibited superior performance on Cr (VI) removal at low pH (2.0) and Cr (VI) concentrations (≤ 50 mg L−1). Various techniques illustrated that the predominant mechanism of Cr (VI) removal by hazelnut shell biochar involved electrostatic attraction, reduction, and complexation. This study provides a promising low-cost alternative for Cr (VI) elimination from acidic wastewater and groundwater after extraction following by pH adjustment to 2.0.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant number 51708249), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Jilin Province (Grant number 20220508008RC), and Science and Technology Project of Jilin Provincial Education Department (Grant number JJKH20220295KJ and JJKH20210272KJ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Songliao Aquatic Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Yuting Zhang, Yuwei Tang, Ruiping Yan, Chenyang Li & Shuang Liang

  2. School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering (Liubao Tea Modern Industry College), Wuzhou University, Wuzhou, 543002, China

    Jinchunzi Li

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  1. Yuting Zhang
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  2. Yuwei Tang
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  3. Ruiping Yan
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  4. Jinchunzi Li
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  5. Chenyang Li
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  6. Shuang Liang
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Contributions

Yuting Zhang: conceptualization and funding acquisition. Yuwei Tang: writing—original draft. Ruiping Yan: data analysis. Jinchunzi Li: funding acquisition. Chenyang Li: supervision and project administration. Shuang Liang: writing—reviewing and editing and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Shuang Liang.

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Zhang, ., Tang, Y., Yan, R. et al. Removal performance and mechanisms of aqueous Cr (VI) by biochar derived from waste hazelnut shell. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 97310–97318 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28603-9

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