Synthesis of biochar from chili seeds and its application to remove ibuprofen from water. Equilibrium and 3D modeling

Abstract

In this work chili seeds (Capsicum annuum) were used as raw material in the synthesis of biochar at temperatures between 400 and 600 °C. The samples were chemically, texturally and morphologically characterized and their properties were correlated with the calcination temperature. The adsorption mechanism of IBP was elucidated by analyzing the effect of solution pH, ionic strength and temperature, whereas that, the intraparticle diffusion mechanism was clarified through the application of a 3D diffusional model. The results evidenced that raising the pyrolysis temperature promotes a greater content of disordered graphitic carbon (51.6–85.02%) with small surface area (0.52–0.18 m2/g) and low quantity of functional groups. The adsorption study demonstrated that the biochar synthesized at 600 °C (C600) enhances the adsorption capacity >50 folds compared with chili seeds. Moreover, at pH = 7 the adsorption mechanism is governed by π-acceptor and attractive electrostatic interactions, whereas at basic pH the main adsorption mechanism is π-acceptor. Additionally, hydrophobic interactions become important by increasing the presence of NaCl. The application of 3D diffusional model based on surface diffusion interpreted clearly the kinetic curves obtaining values of Ds ranging from 2.31 × 10−8–2.51 × 10−8 cm2 s−1. Besides, it was determined that intraparticle mass flux is larger along the shortest axis of the seed, and always directed toward the particle center. The maximum mass flux takes place in the center of particle, and it advances like a moving front as time was increased.