Ultrafast sequestration of cadmium and lead from water by manganese oxide supported on a macro-mesoporous biochar

Abstract

Porous carrier supported metal oxide composites possess significant potential for sequestration of heavy metals from various waters. However, slow diffusion of targeted metal ions within the micropores of the porous carriers is a key technical barrier limiting practical application of these hybrid adsorbents, particularly in high flow systems. In this study, we first synthesized a biochar with enlarged pore channel (namely K-BC) by adding KHCO3 during the biochar pyrolysis process and then employed the K-BC as a supporter to fabricate a new manganese oxide-based composite (namely HMO-K-BC). It is striking that the effective intra-particle diffusion coefficient D of Pb(II) inside the K-BC is comparable to that in aqueous solution (1.5 × 10−6 v.s. 2.1 × 10−6 cm2 s−1). Although the D value of Pb(II) inside the HMO-K-BC was reduced to 1.8 × 10−7 cm2 s−1, it is still 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional adsorbents such as activated carbon, ion exchanger and biochar. As a result, the HMO-K-BC can rapidly sequestrate Pb(II) and Cd(II) within 7.5 min. The HMO-K-BC can also selectively remove Pb(II) and Cd(II) in the presence of high level Ca(II) and humic acid. Column tests further showed that HMO-K-BC was able to effectively treat simulated and real Pb(II)- and Cd(II)-polluted wastewater in a high-flow system with superficial liquid velocity of 0.53 m h−1 (20 BV h−1). All the results manifest that expanding pores of biochar is a promising measure for promoting the practical application of biochar supported composites in wastewater treatment.