Preparation and Characterization of Biochars from Eichornia crassipes for Cadmium Removal in Aqueous Solutions

Feng Li; Kaixuan Shen; Xiaolin Long; Jiasheng Wen; Xiaojie Xie; Xiangyun Zeng; Yanyan Liang; Yansha Wei; Zefeng Lin; Wenrou Huang; Ruida Zhong

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0148132

Preparation and Characterization of Biochars from Eichornia crassipes for Cadmium Removal in Aqueous Solutions

PLoS One. 2016 Feb 16;11(2):e0148132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148132. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Feng Li^{1

2}, Kaixuan Shen¹, Xiaolin Long¹, Jiasheng Wen¹, Xiaojie Xie¹, Xiangyun Zeng¹, Yanyan Liang¹, Yansha Wei¹, Zefeng Lin¹, Wenrou Huang¹, Ruida Zhong¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Civil Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China.

Abstract

The study investigated the preparation and characterization of biochars from water hyacinth at 300°C to 700°C for cadmium (Cd) removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorption process was dominated by oxygen-containing functional groups with irregular surfaces via esterification reactions. Furthermore, the mineral components in the biochars also contributed to Cd absorption through precipitation. Parameters such as the effects of solution pH, contact time, and initial concentration were studied. The optimum pH value was observed at 5.0, in which nearly 90% of Cd was removed. The maximum Cd adsorption capacities based on the Langmuir isotherm were calculated at 49.837, 36.899, and 25.826 mg g(-1). The adsorption processes of the biochars followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics, with the equilibrium achieved around 5 h. The biochar from E. crassipes is a promising adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater, which can in turn convert one environmental problem to a new cleaning Technology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Cadmium / isolation & purification*
Charcoal / chemistry*
Eichhornia / chemistry*
Fresh Water / chemistry
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Introduced Species
Materials Testing
Solutions
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Wastewater / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical / isolation & purification*
Water Purification / methods
Zinc / isolation & purification*

Substances

Solutions
Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
biochar
Cadmium
Charcoal
Zinc

Grants and funding

This study was founded by the projects of China Geological Survey (Grant No. 1212010914020), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41001341), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2014ZZ0012). National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is the most important funding agency of creative basic research. The URL of NSFC's web site is (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portal0/default152.htm). The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (FRFC) has established by state educational ministry of china, and the main goal is to support the basic research. Research funds of FRFC are allocated by central universities (That is, the universities directly under the Ministry of Education, including South China University of Technology). The URL of web sites related to FRFC: The department of science & technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (http://www.dost.moe.edu.cn/dostmoe) (http://www.dost.moe.edu.cn/dostmoe/tzgg/zxtz/20120416112009). The department of science & technology, South China University of Technology (http://www2.scut.edu.cn/science) (http://www2.scut.edu.cn/s/41/t/18/51/71/info86385.htm). The projects of China Geological Survey (http://www.cgs.gov.cn/gzdt/gzdongtai/19910.htm). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.