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Boosted simultaneous removal of chlortetracycline and Cu (II) by Litchi Leaves Biochar: Influence of pH, ionic strength, and background electrolyte ions

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Abstract

The coexistence of heavy metals and antibiotics in the environment always results in greater toxicity compared to the individual precursors. Therefore, efficient and economic technology for the simultaneous removal of antibiotics and heavy metals is essential. Herein, litchi leaves biochar carbonized at 550 °C (L550) demonstrated high efficiency in co-removal of CTC (1838.1 mmol/kg) and Cu (II) (1212.9 mmol/kg) within wide range of pH (pH 4–7). Ionic strength obviously enhanced the Cu (II) removal but showed no significant effect on CTC removal. Although Al3+ and HPO42− decreased the adsorption capacities of CTC and Cu (II) on L550, the coexistence of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Cl−, NO3−, CO32− and SO42− showed a negligible effect on the simultaneous removal of CTC and Cu (II). Moreover, the adsorption capacities of CTC and Cu (II) on L550 were excellent in the river water, tap water, and lake water. In addition to electrostatic interactions, ion exchange governed Cu (II) adsorption, while surface complexation played a key role in CTC adsorption on L550. Our results demonstrated that litchi leaves biochar could be a promising adsorbent for remediating multi-contaminated environments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21707037, 52200074), China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-32), and the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (2021B1212040008).

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 21707037, Cuihua Bai, 52200074, Guangcai Tan, China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA, CARS-32,Cuihua Bai, Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province, 2021B1212040008, Cuihua Bai

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Xian Hu, Yifan Qu, Lixian Yao & Cuihua Bai

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Rural Pollution Abatement and Environmental Safety, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Xian Hu, Yifan Qu, Lixian Yao & Cuihua Bai

  3. Hubei Key Laboratory of Quality Control of Characteristic Fruits and Vegetables, College of Life Science and Technology, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, 432000, China

    Zhilin Zhang

  4. CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Guangcai Tan

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  1. Xian Hu
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  2. Yifan Qu
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  3. Lixian Yao
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Contributions

Xian Hu: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing- original draft; Yifan Qu: Investigation, Validation, Formal analysis; Lixian Yao: Writing -review and editing, Resources; Zhilin Zhang: Investigation; Guangcai Tan, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing-review and editing; Cuihua Bai: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Writing -review and editing, Supervision.

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Correspondence to Cuihua Bai.

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Hu, X., Qu, Y., Yao, L. et al. Boosted simultaneous removal of chlortetracycline and Cu (II) by Litchi Leaves Biochar: Influence of pH, ionic strength, and background electrolyte ions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 10430–10442 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31770-4

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