Kinetic study of uranium removal from aqueous solutions by macaúba biochar

Abstract

Macaúba (Acronomia aculeata) is a palm tree native of the Brazilian savanna and a valuable renewable source of vegetable oil for human consumption and biodiesel production. In this study, the potentiality of the macaúba endocarp for biochar (BC) production was demonstrated. Moisture, density, elemental and molecular composition, along with TGA, FTIR, and XRD analyses were performed for the endocarp. Adsorption of uranyl ions, U(VI), from aqueous solutions was studied by batch technique using BC produced by slow pyrolysis of the endocarp at 350 °C (BC350). The effect of contact time on the removal of U(VI) by BC350 was evaluated. Linear and non-linear kinetics models were employed and the best fit for the experimental data was achieved for pseudo-first order non-linear model. The adsorption equilibrium was attained after 180 min of contact time and the equilibrium adsorption capacity achieved was of 400 mg g−1. Finally, BC350 was characterized by SEM, FTIR, WDXRF, and XRD techniques.