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N-containing biochar from oatmeal: hydrothermal synthesis and used as highly efficient adsorbent for Cr(VI) adsorptive-reduction removal

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Abstract

N-containing biochar from oatmeal was produced by co-pyrolysis of hydrochar, ZnCl2, and FeCl3, showing well-developed pores with surface areas of 2744 m2/g and N species of 5.4 at.%. The as-formed biochar was used for Cr(VI) removal via batch adsorption, and the different parameters, i.e., initial pH, contact time, and concentration on efficiency, were evaluated. Adsorptive results indicated that Cr(VI) removal is largely affected by surface areas and functional groups of biochar under optimum pH value of two, following by pseudo-second-order and Langmuir model. The maximum capacity for Cr(VI) is up to 139 mg/g from synergistic effect of adsorption and reduction mechanism, much higher than that of analogous in the absence of FeCl3 with capacity of 113 mg/g and commercial activated carbons of 61 mg/g. N-containing biochar also had superior recyclability with capacity still up to 67.5 mg/g even after ten times recycling. The inexpensive feedstock and high removal performance made the present biochar be a promising candidate for Cr(VI) removal from wastewater.

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Funding

This study received financial supports from Education Bureau of Hunan Province (21B0098), Project of Guiding Technology of Xiangtan City (CG-ZDJH202120), and Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Project of Xiangtan University.

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Zhikang Zhou: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, and writing

Yu Bu: writing and visualization

Xinglin Long: methodology and investigation

Jinjun Cai: methodology, modification, and supervision

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Correspondence to Jinjun Cai.

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Zhou, Z., Bu, Y., Long, X. et al. N-containing biochar from oatmeal: hydrothermal synthesis and used as highly efficient adsorbent for Cr(VI) adsorptive-reduction removal. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-03955-x

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