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Adsorption performance and mechanism of Fe-loaded biochar derived from waste zanthoxylum branch for removing Cr(VI) from aqueous solution

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Abstract

Zanthoxylum branch became agricultural waste without proper utilization, and the pristine biochar (PB) had the limited removal capacity of Cr(VI) (21.75 mg g−1). In this study, zanthoxylum branch was fabricated to modified biochar (MZB) through impregnating with 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mol L−1 Fe (NO3)3 solution and then pyrolyzing at 500 and 900 ℃. After sieving by batch adsorption experiment of Cr(VI), the optimal MZB was prepared with impregnating solution concentration of 0.4 mg L−1 and pyrolysis temperature of 900 ℃ (900MZB4), and displayed the outstanding Cr(VI) removal capacity (110.43 mg g−1). Besides, the effect of initial solution pH was evaluated, and removal process of Cr(VI) was a reaction of consuming protons. The fitting results of Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model confirmed that the Cr(VI) removal reaction was a homogeneous chemisorption. Thermodynamic parameters demonstrated that the adsorption of Cr(VI) was an endothermic spontaneous process. The results of SEM and XRD suggested that zero-valent iron (Fe0) particles were located on 900MZB4 surface and participated in the removal reaction of Cr(VI). The XPS analysis indicated 78.37% of Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) by the cooperation of oxygen-containing functional groups (OFG) and Fe0. More OFG and higher surface area (130.36 m2 g−1) revealed by FTIR and BET also contributed to the better characteristic of 900MZB4. In addition, 900MZB4 maintained removal efficiency at 81.22% after sixth regeneration cycles. Therefore, it is feasible to prepare high-efficient adsorbent from zanthoxylum branch for wastewater treatment.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Q Qu, XH Guo, ZJ Shao, XZ Wang, and MQ Zhu for their insightful suggestions and comments on this paper.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900105, 51576167).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northwest A&F University, College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Qiang Qu, Xiaohui Guo, Zhijiang Shao, Xiuzhang Wang, Mingqiang Zhu & Ling Qiu

  2. Northwest Research Center of Rural Renewable Energy Exploitation and Utilization of M.O.A, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China

    Qiang Qu, Xiaohui Guo, Zhijiang Shao, Xiuzhang Wang, Mingqiang Zhu & Ling Qiu

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  1. Qiang Qu
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  2. Xiaohui Guo
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  3. Zhijiang Shao
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  4. Xiuzhang Wang
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  5. Mingqiang Zhu
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  6. Ling Qiu
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Contributions

Q Qu experimented, analyzed data, and wrote original draft; XH Guo designed experiment, supervised, and financially supported the initial study; ZJ Shao and XZ Wang supervised the field trial; MQ Zhu investigated and disposed the data; L Qiu reviewed, edited the manuscript, designed experiment, and financially supported the primary study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ling Qiu.

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Qiang Qu and Xiaohui contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Highlights

1. Iron-containing solution concentration and pyrolysis temperature has synergistic effect on iron-oxide form.

2. Zero-valent iron particle was located uniformly on the magnetic biochar surface.

3. The removal capacity by 900MZB4 predicted by Langmuir model was 140.51 mg g−1.

4. Cr(VI) removal process of 900MZB4 was the combination of several mechanisms.

5. Physical adsorption and chemical redox reaction jointly devoted to the Cr(VI) removal.

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Qu, Q., Guo, X., Shao, Z. et al. Adsorption performance and mechanism of Fe-loaded biochar derived from waste zanthoxylum branch for removing Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 14, 10201–10215 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-03213-6

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