Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: Heavy metal adsorptionnot only depends on biochar characteristics but also on the nature of the metals involved and on their competitive behavior for biochar adsorption sites. The goal of this study was to investigate the competitive absorption characteristics of Cu and Cd in mono-metal and binary-metal forms by biochar derived from Phragmites communis . METHODS AND RESULTS: Batch and column experiments were conducted to evaluate the competitive adsorption characteristics of the biocharfor Cu and Cd. In the batch experiments, the maximum adsorption capacity of Cd(63 mg/g) by biochar was higher than that for Cu (55 mg/g) in the mono-metal adsorption isotherm. On the other hand, the maximum Cu adsorption capacity (40 mg/g) by biochar was higher than that for Cd(25 mg/g) in the binary-metal adsorption isotherm. Cu was the most retained cations. Cd could be easily exchanged and substituted by Cu. The amounts of adsorbed metals in the column experiments were in the order of Cd (121 mg/g) > Cu (96 mg/g) in mono-metal conditions, and Cu (72 mg/g) > Cd (29 mg/g) in binary-metal conditions.

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