Actual Wastewater Research Articles

Red mud supported on rice husk biochar as sono-photo-Fenton catalysts for degradation of ciprofloxacin in water

To develop efficient methods to reuse red mud and rice husk waste to remove ciprofloxacin (CIP) in water, a simple and efficient Fenton catalyst based on red mud/rice husk biochar composite (RMR) was prepared using ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method. The effects of initial solution pH, initial CIP concentration, contact time, and catalyst dose on the removal of CIP in water were studied. The results showed that at pH 3, RMR dose of 1.0 g/L, CIP concentration of 20 mg/L, treatment time of 180 min, and temperature of 50 °C, the degradation efficiency was the highest at 75.97 % for sono-Fenton (SF) and 95.65 % for sono-photo-Fenton (SPF) with in situ generation of H2O2 during processes, indicating RMR has a great potential application in the treatment of organic pollution in actual wastewater. Other factors such as the co-existing anions (NO3–, SO42−, Cl−) or water matrices and other antibiotics were also investigated to prove the good removal of CIP by RMR for practical applications.

Covalent Organic Framework Nanoarchitectonics: Recent Advances for Precious Metal Recovery.

The recovery of precious metals (PMs) from secondary resources has garnered significant attention due to environmental and economic considerations. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as promising adsorbents for this purpose, owing to their tunable pore size, facile functionalization, exceptional chemical stability, and large specific surface area. This review provides an overview of the latest research progress in utilizing COFs to recover PMs. Firstly, the design and synthesis strategies of chemically stable COF-based materials, including pristine COFs, functionalized COFs, and COF-based composites, are delineated. Furthermore, the application of COFs in the recovery of gold, silver, and platinum group elements is delved into, emphasizing their high adsorption capacity and selectivity as well as recycling ability. Additionally, various interaction mechanisms between COFs and PM ions are analyzed. Finally, the current challenges faced by COFs in the field of PM recovery are discussed, and potential directions for future development are proposed, including enhancing the recyclability and reusability of COF materials and realizing the high recovery of PMs from actual acidic wastewater. With the targeted development of COF-based materials, the recovery of PMs can be realized more economically and efficiently in the future.

Overcoming metals redox rate limitations in spinel oxide-driven Fenton-like reactions via synergistic heteroatom doping and carbon anchoring for efficient micropollutant removal

The transition metals redox rate limitations of spinel oxides during Fenton-like reactions hinder its efficient and sustainable treatment of actual wastewater. Herein, we propose to optimize the electronic structure of Co-Mn spinel oxide (CM) via sulfur doping and carbon matrix anchoring synergistically, enhancing the radicals-nonradicals Fenton-like processes for efficient water decontamination. Activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) with optimised spinel oxide (CMSAC) achieved near-complete removal of ofloxacin (10 mg/L) within 6 min, showing 8.4 times higher efficiency than CM group. Significantly higher yields of SO4·− and high-valent metal species in CMSAC/PMS system provided exceptional resistance to co-existing anions, enabling efficient removal of various emerging contaminants in high salinity leachate. Specifically, sulfur coordination and carbon anchoring-induced oxygen vacancy synergistically improved the electronic structure and electron transfer efficiency of CMSAC, thus forming highly reactive Co sites and significantly reducing the energy barrier for Co(IV)=O generation. The reductive sulfur species facilitated the conversion of Co(III) to Co(II), thereby maintaining the stability of the catalytic activity of CMSAC. This work developed a synergistic optimization strategy to overcome the metals redox rate limitations of spinel oxides in Fenton-like reactions, providing deep mechanistic insights for designing Fenton-like catalysts suitable for practical applications.

Exploring the viability of peracetic acid-mediated antibiotic degradation in wastewater through activation with electrogenerated HClO

Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) face challenging conditions in chloride media, owing to the co-generation of undesirable Cl−disinfection byproducts (Cl−DBPs). Herein, the synergistic activation between in-situ electrogenerated HClO and peracetic acid (PAA)-based reactive species in actual wastewater is discussed. A metal-free graphene−modified graphite felt (graphene/GF) cathode is used for the first time to achieve the electrochemically-mediated activation of PAA. The PAA/Cl− system allowed a near−complete sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation (kobs =0.49 min−1) in only 5 min in a model solution, inducing 32.7− and 8.2−fold rise in kobs as compared to single PAA and Cl− systems, respectively. Such enhancement is attributed to the occurrence of 1O2 (25.5 μmol L−1 after 5 min of electrolysis) from the thermodynamically favored reaction between HClO and PAA-based reactive species. The antibiotic degradation in a complex water matrix was further considered. The SMX removal is slightly susceptible to the coexisting natural organic matter, with both the acute cytotoxicity (ACT) and the yield of 12 DBPs decreasing by 29.4 % and 37.3 %, respectively. According to calculations, HClO accumulation and organic Cl−addition reactions are thermodynamically unfavored. This study provides a scenario-oriented paradigm for PAA−based electrochemical treatment technology, being particularly appealing for treating wastewater rich in Cl− ion, which may derive in toxic Cl−DBPs.

Nature-based bioreactors: Tackling antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have accelerated the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, significantly impacting human, animal, and environmental health. As aquatic environments are vulnerable to antibiotic resistance, suitable management practices should be adopted to tackle this phenomenon. Here we show an effective, nature-based solution for reducing antibiotic resistance from actual wastewater. We utilize a bioreactor that relies on benthic (biofilms) and planktonic microbial communities to treat secondary effluent from a small urban wastewater treatment plant (<10,000 population equivalent). This treated effluent is eventually released into the local aquatic ecosystem. We observe high removal efficiency for genes that provide resistance to commonly used antibiotic families, as well as for mobile genetic elements that could potentially aid in their spread. Importantly, we notice a buildup of sulfonamide (sul1 and sul2) and tetracycline (tet(C), tet(G), and tetR) resistance genes specifically in biofilms. This advancement marks the initial step in considering this bioreactor as a nature-based, cost-effective tertiary treatment option for small UWWTPs facing antibiotic resistance challenges.

Atomic Confinement Empowered CoZn Dual-Single-Atom Nanotubes for H2O2 Production in Sequential Dual-Cathode Electro-Fenton Process.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) are flourishing in various fields because of their 100% atomic utilization. However, their uncontrollable selectivity, poor stability and vulnerable inactivation remain critical challenges. According to theoretical predictions and experiments, a heteronuclear CoZn dual-single-atom confined in N/O-doped hollow carbon nanotube reactors (CoZnSA@CNTs) is synthesized via spatial confinement growth. CoZnSA@CNTs exhibit superior performance for H2O2 electrosynthesis over the entire pH range due to dual-confinement of atomic sites and O2 molecule. CoZnSA@CNTs is favorable for H2O2 production mainly because the synergy of adjacent atomic sites, defect-rich feature and nanotube reactor promoted O2 enrichment and enhanced H2O2 reactivity/selectivity. The H2O2 selectivity reaches ∼100% in a range of 0.2-0.65V versus RHE and the yield achieves 7.50M gcat -1 with CoZnSA@CNTs/carbon fiber felt, exceeding most of the reported SACs in H-type cells. The obtained H2O2 is converted directly to sodium percarbonate and sodium perborate in a safe way for H2O2 storage/transportation. The sequential dual-cathode electron-Fenton process promotes the formation of reactive oxygen species (•OH, 1O2 and •O2 -) by activating the generated H2O2, enabling accelerated degradation of various pollutants and Cr(VI) detoxification in actual wastewater. This work proposes a promising confinement strategy for catalyst design and selectivity regulation of complex reactions.

Efficient removal of Sb(III) from wastewater using selenium nanoparticles synthesized by Psidium guajava plant extract.

Antimony (Sb) pollution in aquatic ecosystems has emerged as a critical environmental issue on a global scale, emphasizing the urgent need for cost-effective and user-friendly technologies to remove Sb compounds from water sources. In this study, a novel adsorbent, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), was synthesized using the aqueous extract of Psidium guajava L. leaves (AEP) for the purpose of eliminating Sb(III) from aqueous solutions. The biosynthesized SeNPs was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis techniques. Additionally, the removal efficiency of the SeNPs for Sb(III) was systematic investigated under the effects of SeNPs dose, temperature, pH and re-usability. The results of this study showed that the adsorption data fitted well into pseudo-second order model, while the Sips modeling demonstrated a high adsorption capacity (62.7mg/g) of SeNPs for Sb(III) ions at 303.15K from aqueous solution. The exothermic enthalpy change of - 22.59kJ/mol and negative Gibbs free energy change assured the viability of the adsorption process under the considered temperature conditions. Surface functional groups on SeNPs like carboxyl, amide, hydroxyl, carbonyl, and methylene significantly facilitate the adsorption processes. Furthermore, the removal efficiencies of Sb in the two actual Sb mine wastewater samples were remarkably high, achieving nearly to 100% with 1.5g/L SeNPs within 48h. This outcome underscores the potential of SeNPs as a highly promising solution for efficiently remediating Sb from aquatic environments, owing to their cost-effectiveness, ease of regeneration, and rapid uptake capabilities.

Selective Adsorption of Hazardous Substances from Wastewater by Hierarchical Oxide Composites: A Review.

Large volumes of wastewater containing toxic contaminants (e.g., heavy metal ions, organic dyes, etc.) are produced from industrial processes including electroplating, mining, petroleum exploitation, metal smelting, etc., and proper treatment prior to their discharge is mandatory in order to alleviate the impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Adsorption is one of the most effective and practical methods for removing toxic substances from wastewater due to its simplicity, flexibility, and economics. Recently, hierarchical oxide composites with diverse morphologies at the micro/nanometer scale, and the combination advantages of oxides and composite components have been received wide concern in the field of adsorption due to their multi-level structures, easy functionalization characteristic resulting in their large transport passages, high surface areas, full exposure of active sites, and good stability. This review summarizes the recent progress on their typical preparation methods, mainly including the hydrothermal/solvothermal method, coprecipitation method, template method, polymerization method, etc., in the field of selective adsorption and competitive adsorption of hazardous substances from wastewater. Their formation processes and different selective adsorption mechanisms, mainly including molecular/ion imprinting technology, surface charge effect, hard-soft acid-base theory, synergistic effect, and special functionalization, were critically reviewed. The key to hierarchical oxide composites research in the future is the development of facile, repeatable, efficient, and scale preparation methods and their dynamic adsorption with excellent cyclic regeneration adsorption performance instead of static adsorption for actual wastewater. This review is beneficial to broaden a new horizon for rational design and preparation of hierarchical oxide materials with selective adsorption of hazardous substances for wastewater treatment.

Regulating Lewis Acid‐Base Sites over Fenton System for Enhancing Degradation of Pollutants in Saline and Buffered Wastewater†

Comprehensive SummaryThe saline and buffered environment in actual wastewater imposes higher demands on Fenton and Fenton‐like catalytic systems. This study developed a MoS2 co‐catalytic Fe2O3 Fenton‐like system with controllable Lewis acid‐base sites, achieving efficient treatment of various model pollutants and actual industrial wastewater under neutral buffered environment. The acidic microenvironment structured by the edge S sites (Lewis basic sites) in the MoS2/Fe2O3 catalyst is susceptible to the influence of Lewis acidic sites constructed by Mo and Fe element, affecting catalytic performance. Optimizing the ratio of precursor amounts ensures the stable presence of the acidic microenvironment on the surface of catalyst, enabling the beneficial co‐catalytic effect of Mo sites to be realized. Furthermore, it transcends the rigid constraints imposed by the Fenton reaction on reaction environments, thereby expanding the applicability of commonplace oxides such as Fe2O3 in actual industrial water remediation.

Recovery of Y(III) from wastewater by Pseudomonas psychrotolerans isolated from a mine soil

While microbial technologies, which are considered to be environmentally friendly, have great potential for the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from mining wastewater, their applications have been restricted due to a lack of efficient biosorbents. In this study, a strain of Pseudomonas psychrotolerans isolated from yttrium-enriched mine soil was used to recover yttrium (Y(III)) from rare-earth mining wastewater. At an initial Y(III) dose of 50 mg L−1, the amount of Y(III) adsorbed by P. psychrotolerans reached 99.9 % after 24 h. Various characterization techniques revealed that P. psychrotolerans adsorbed Y(III) mainly through complexation of oxygen-containing functional groups and electrostatic interactions. A high level of adsorption efficiency (>99.9 %) was maintained after five consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles, indicating that P. psychrotolerans was highly reusable. While the efficiency of adsorbing Y(III) by P. psychrotolerans decreased (34.4 %) in actual rare earth mining wastewater, selectivity toward other REEs (≤ 18.4 %) was still observed. Consequently, this study provides a promising green, environmentally friendly and sustainable microbial approach for the selective recovery of REEs from rare earth wastewater.

Modification of Yarrowia lipolytica via metabolic engineering for effective remediation of heavy metals from wastewater

With the increasing demand for heavy metals due to the advancement of industrial activities, large proportions of heavy metals have been discharged into aquatic ecosystems, causing serious harm to human health and the environment. Existing physical and chemical methods for recovering heavy metals from wastewater encounter challenges, such as low efficiency, high processing costs, and potential secondary pollution. In this study, we developed a novel approach by engineering the endogenous sulphur metabolic pathway of Yarrowia lipolytica, providing it with the ability to produce approximately 550 ppm of sulphide. Subsequently, sulphide-producing Y. lipolytica was used for the first time in heavy metal remediation. The engineered strain exhibited a high capacity to remove various heavy metals, especially achieving over 90 % for cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb). This capacity was consistent when applied to both synthetic and actual wastewater samples. Microscopic analyses revealed that sulphide-mediated biological precipitation of metal sulphides on the cell surface is responsible for their removal. Our findings demonstrate that sulphide-producing yeasts are a robust and effective bioremediation strategy for heavy metals, showing great potential for future heavy metal pollution remediation practices.

Photoelectrocatalysis degradation of P-aminophenol using PbO2-TiO2 heterojunction electrode: Catalytic, theoretical calculating and mechanism

To lengthen the lifetime and extend the potential commercial applications of lead dioxide electrode. Herein, PbO2–TiO2 heterostructured electrodes were fabricated via direct current electrodeposition and the surface of the electrode was characterized by electron microscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The PbO2–TiO2 heterostructure electrode could produce an obvious photocurrent under UV irradiation, indicating a photoelectrocatalytic reaction. The PbO2–TiO2 heterostructured electrode was examined using density functional theory calculations(DFT). Work function(WF) confirmed that the applied electric field is conducive to the movement of photoelectrons, which promotes the photoelectrocatalysis effect. The nudged elastic band(NEB) results showed that the PbO2–TiO2 heterostructure electrode can promote the formation of •OH by reducing the activation barrier. The PbO2–TiO2 electrode was used as an anode to treat P-aminophenol (PAP) wastewater simulated wastewater and real PAP wastewater via photoelectrocatalytic degradation. The PbO2–TiO2 electrode effectively removes chemical oxygen demand (COD) from actual wastewater was 54.93 %,The after-treated Pb2+ concentration (0.037 mg·L−1) was lower than China’s wastewater discharge standard (1 mg·L−1). Finally, the degradation pathway of PAP was determined based on the intermediates detected using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the reactive sites of PAP were predicted using the Fukui function.These results suggest that the photoelectrocatalysis degradation of PAP using electrodes is feasible.

Combined effect of temperature and illumination on treatment of etching terminal wastewater in single-chamber microbial electrolysis cells

Temperatures and illumination/darkness conditions influenced etching terminal wastewater (ETW) treatment using Serratia marcescens-inoculated single-chamber microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), achieving recalcitrant organics mineralization (6.0 − 12.2 mg/L/h) and complete heavy metals removal at 4 − 60 ℃ during 24 h operation. A favorable 6 h operation for heavy metals removal and the preferable 24 h for recalcitrant organics mineralization, demonstrated nonsynchronous removal/mineralization of these different components in the ETW. Temperature and illumination combinedly regulated S. marcescens release of more cathodic than anodic extracellular polymer substances (EPS) with a compositional diversity and the more functional cathodic triplet 3EPS* than active radical HO•, converse to the HO• over 3EPS* in darkness, for efficient recalcitrant organics mineralization. These results illustrated the combined influential temperature and illumination via regulating S. marcescens release of different EPS for ETW treatment, providing a new regulating strategy towards efficient treatment of actual industrial wastewaters in single-chamber MECs.

Sulfadiazine degradation by hydroxyl radical and direct electron transfer pathways in the self-prepared boron doped diamond electrochemical process

Sulfonamide antibiotics are frequently detected in livestock wastewater, seriously harming the ecological environment and human health. Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemical process has prominent potential in degrading organic pollutants from special industrial wastewater. In this work, the degradation efficiency and mechanism for sulfadiazine (SDZ) with the prepared BDD electrode were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy revealed a 2 μm thick, compact, and crack-free BDD film on silicon. The BDD's oxygen evolution potential was 1.47 V. About 93.3 % of SDZ in the synthetic wastewater was removed under the conditions of a current density of 40 mA/cm2, electrode spacing of 20 mm, electrolyte concentration of 40 mM, and an initial pH of 8. Hydroxyl radical and direct electron transfer (DET) mainly contributed to SDZ degradation based on specific quencher tests and electrochemical analysis. The possible transformation pathways of SDZ were proposed according to the detected oxidation products and DFT calculation, mainly including amino hydroxylation, sulfur dioxide extrusion, and pyrimidine heterocyclic ring opening. Furthermore, the toxicity of intermediates products markedly weakened compared to that of SDZ. The presence of ion chloride could slightly improve the removal of SDZ, while bicarbonate and phosphate inhibited the SDZ degradation. In addition, the efficient removal of chemical oxygen demand and SDZ in the effluent of aerobic biological treatment effluent of actual livestock wastewater was confirmed. To sum up, BDD electrochemical oxidation is a viable approach for the advanced treatment of livestock wastewater.

S-doped g-C3N4 on Co/Ni metal-organic framework as efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for in-situ hydrogen production from high-salt wastewater

An efficient and stable catalyst is the key to electrocatalytic hydrogen production. Herein, a bifunctional electrocatalyst is developed for electrocatalytic hydrogen production by depositing S-doped g-C3N4 on Co/Ni metal-organic framework electrode (namely CoNi-MOFs/S-g-C3N4). Compared with the original Co/Ni metal-organic framework (CoNi-MOFs), the overpotential of hydrogen production on CoNi-MOFs/S-g-C3N4 is reduced by 49.5 %, the charge transfer resistance is reduced by 74.5 %, and the electrochemically active area is expanded by 60.1 times. Moreover, CoNi-MOFs/S-g-C3N4 can be used as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. Impressively, using CoNi-MOFs/S-g-C3N4 as the anode and cathode, the hydrogen yield can reach 5.513 mmol h−1 and the energy consumption is 5.822 kWh Nm−3 at a current density of 250 mA cm−2. In addition, an in-situ overall water splitting system was designed for hydrogen production using high-salt wastewater as water source without additional pre-desalination process, which realizes green hydrogen production and reduces the cost. The hydrogen yield was hold in the range of 5.2–5.3 mmol h−1 for a week, showing excellent performance of hydrogen production and strong stability. More importantly, the system can be applied to various high-salt wastewater with wider pH and salinity, and shows promising application potential for hydrogen production in actual wastewater.

Construction of a Bifunctional Redox-Site Conjugated Covalent-Organic Framework for Photoinduced Precision Trapping of Uranyl Ions.

The performance of covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) for the photocatalytic extraction of uranium is greatly limited by the number of adsorption sites. Herein, inspired by electronegative redox reactions, we designed a nitrogen-oxygen rich pyrazine connected COF (TQY-COF) with multiple redox sites as a platform for extracting uranium via combining superaffinity and enhanced photoinduction. The preorganized bisnitrogen-bisoxygen donor configuration on TQY-COF is entirely matched with the typical geometric coordination of hexavalent uranyl ions, which demonstrates high affinity (tetra-coordination). In addition, the presence of the carbonyl group and pyrazine ring effectively stores and controls electron flow, which efficaciously facilitates the separation of e-/h+ and enhances photocatalytic performance. The experimental results show that TQY-COF removes up to 99.8% of uranyl ions from actual uranium mine wastewater under the light conditions without a sacrificial agent, and the separation coefficient reaches 1.73 × 106 mL g-1 in the presence of multiple metal ions, which realizes the precise separation in the complex environment. Importantly, DFT calculations further elucidate the coordination mechanism of uranium and demonstrate the necessity of the presence of N/O atoms in the photocatalytic adsorption of uranium.

Sustainable H2O2 production in a floating dual-cathode electro-Fenton system for efficient decontamination of organic pollutants

Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) based on natural air diffusion electrode (NADE) promise efficient and affordable advanced oxidation water purification, but the sustainable operation of such reaction systems remains challenging due to severe cathode electrowetting. Herein, a novel floating cathode (FC) composed of a stable hydrophobic three-phase interface was established by designing a flexible catalytic layer of FC. This innovative electrode configuration could effectively prolong the service life of the cathode by mitigating the interference of H2 bubbles from the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and the H2O2 production rate reached 37.59 mg h−1·cm−2 and realize a long-term stable operation for 10 h. Additionally, an FC/carbon felt (CF) dual-cathode electro-Fenton system was constructed for in situ sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation. Efficient H2O2 production on FC and Fe(III) reduction on CF were synchronously achieved, attaining excellent degradation efficiency for both SMX (ca. 100%) with 2.5 mg L−1 of Fe(Ⅱ) injection. For real wastewater, the COD removal of the FC/CF dual-cathode electro-Fenton system was stabilized at exceeding 75%. The practical application potential of the FC/CF dual-cathode electro-Fenton system was also demonstrated for the treatment of actual landfill leachate in continuous flow mode. This work provides a valuable path for constructing a sustainable dual-cathode electro-Fenton system for actual wastewater treatment.

Development of a new synchronous fluorescence spectrometry combined with Al3+ sensitized for simultaneous and rapid determination of trace flumequine, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline hydrochloride residues in wastewater

Antibiotics are a new type of environmental pollutants. Due to its wide application in many fields, antibiotic residues are ubiquitous in the wastewater environments. Given their potential threat on water ecosystem functioning and public health, the detection of antibiotic residues in wastewater environments has become very necessary. Based on the complexation of Al3+ with flumequine (FLU), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and doxycycline hydrochloride (DOX), their molecular conjugated area were increased and fluorescence intensity were enhanced, combined with synchronous fluorescence spectrometry (SFS) had good selectivity and high sensitivity, a novel method of Al3+ sensitized synchronous fluorescence spectrometry for the determination of FLU, CIP and DOX residues in wastewater was established. When the wavelength difference (Δλ) was selected 115.0 nm, synchronous fluorescence spectra of the three antibiotics could be well separated and the interference of wastewater matrix were eliminated primely. The new SFS made good use of spectral separation instead of conventional chemical separation, and the actual wastewater sample could be directly determined after simple filtration. The experiment results showed that the concentrations of FLU, CIP and DOX in the range of 0.5000–800.0 ng·mL-1, 0.5000–640.0 ng·mL-1 and 10.00–3500 ng·mL-1 had a good linear relationship with fluorescence intensity. The detection limits of three antibiotics were 0.02054 ng·mL-1, 0.03956 ng·mL-1 and 0.8524 ng·mL-1, respectively. Recovery rates of three antibiotics in wastewater samples were 90.72%-98.23%, 88.68%-95.08% and 85.94%-96.70%. The new SFS established in this experiment had the advantages of simple, rapid, sensitive, accurate and good selectivity. Simultaneous and rapid detection of FLU, CIP and DOX residues in wastewater was successfully realized. It had good application prospects in real-time water quality monitoring.

Strength and functionalized borage biochar for effective elimination of nickel contamination: Insight into batch and dynamic flow mode treatment applications

A silica gel-modified borage biochar (BB@Si) was first produced and used as a binding agent for potentially hazardous Ni2+ ions in aqueous systems. The recommended biochar was more effective in eliminating Ni2+ than pristine biochar (BB). Its maximum qm could reach up to 1.39 × 10−3 mol/g at 30 °C, and sorption isotherms showed that the Langmuir model could more accurately define its sorption behavior. The Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm also revealed that the average sorption energy ranged from 11.00 to 11.14 kJ/mol. Zeta potential tests, SEM images, and FT-IR scans confirmed the interactions between BB@Si and Ni2+ ions. Dynamic flow treatment studies showed high uptake effectiveness when the flow rate and amount of BB@Si were suitable. Nickel desorption yield of around 80% from BB@Si was noted with 0.01 M HCl. The BB@Si column's breakthrough and exhausted points were identified to be 45 and 352 min, respectively. Its maximum exhaustion capacity value was determined to be 52.73 mg/g. Ni2+ removal from the actual wastewater sample exceeded 75%. The resulting outcomes imply the immense potential of employing BB@Si in the treatment of Ni2+– contaminated aqueous systems.

Efficient removal of hexavalent chromium from wastewater using a novel sodium alginate-biochar composite adsorbent

Discharging hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI))-containing wastewater has become a critical environmental and ecological concern. Coffee grounds biochar (CGB), rich in oxygen-containing functional groups, can reduce Cr(VI) to the less toxic trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) without secondary contamination. This study developed a composite adsorbent by incorporating sodium alginate (SA) into CGB, exploiting their synergistic adsorption and ion exchange reduction effects for efficient Cr(VI) removal. The maximum adsorption capacity of SACGB, fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model, was 30.66 ± 1.89 mg/g. Under optimal conditions (pH = 2, SA: CGB mass ratio = 3:2, Cr(VI) concentration = 50 mg/L), SACGB achieved 99.79 % Cr(VI) removal from synthetic wastewater. Significant Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) (58.97 % removal) occurred at an SA:CGB ratio of 1:1. The adsorption mechanism involved hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and ion exchange reduction. Removal of Cr(VI) retained 93 % removal despite interference from coexisting Cu(II), Zn(II), and Ni(II) ions, and the ions promoted Cr(VI) adsorption onto SACGB. In actual wastewater, SACGB exhibited excellent Cr(VI) removal (99.26 %), meeting the Chinese industrial effluent discharge standard (0.2 mg/L). After 6 recycling cycles, SACGB demonstrated stable removal performance and contained no biotoxic components. The cost of preparation and adsorption process was analyzed and also compared with earlier studies to evaluate and highlight the economic feasibility of the adsorbent for a truly green removal method. This study highlights SACGB as an economical and efficient adsorbent with practical application potential for Cr(VI) removal from industrial wastewater.