Effect of chemical aging of Alternanthera philoxeroides-derived biochar on the adsorption of Pb(II).

Abstract

In this study, biochar was prepared from Alternanthera philoxeroides (AP) under O2-limited condition at 350 °C (LB) and 650 °C (HB) and treated with aging by HNO3/H2SO4 oxidation. Structural changes of the biochar after aging treatment and the treatment's effect on Pb(II) absorption were explored. The results showed that oxygen-containing functional groups, aromatic structure and surface area of the biochar increased after the aging treatment. However, the integrity of the tubular structure was broken into fragments. The adsorption process of Pb(II) was in accordance with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and fitted by the Langmuir model. With the increase of pH, the adsorption capacities of Pb(II) increased gradually, and the adsorption effect was best at pH 5. The aged HB presented a decrease of the carboxyl group, which caused less adsorption capacity of Pb(II) than that of aged LB. The maximum adsorption capacities of Pb(II) on fresh biochar at 350 °C and 650 °C were 279.85 and 286.07 mg·g-1 and on aged biochar were 242.57 and 159.82 mg·g-1, respectively. The adsorption capacity of HB for Pb(II) was higher than that of LB, and the adsorption capacity of aged biochar for Pb(II) decreased obviously, which might be attributable to changes in physicochemical properties of biochar after the aging treatment.