Pyrolysis condition affected sulfamethazine sorption by tea waste biochars

Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha; Meththika Vithanage; Ming Zhang; Mahtab Ahmad; Dinesh Mohan; Scott X Chang; Yong Sik Ok

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.029

Pyrolysis condition affected sulfamethazine sorption by tea waste biochars

Bioresour Technol. 2014 Aug:166:303-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.029. Epub 2014 May 20.

Authors

Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha¹, Meththika Vithanage¹, Ming Zhang², Mahtab Ahmad³, Dinesh Mohan⁴, Scott X Chang⁵, Yong Sik Ok⁶

Affiliations

¹ Korea Biochar Research Center and Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea; Chemical and Environmental Systems Modeling Research Group, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
² Korea Biochar Research Center and Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Environmental Engineering, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, PR China.
³ Korea Biochar Research Center and Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea; Soil Sciences Department, College of Food & Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁴ School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
⁵ Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
⁶ Korea Biochar Research Center and Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea; Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: soilok@kangwon.ac.kr.

PMID: 24926603
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2014.05.029

Abstract

Sulfamethazine (SMT) as a veterinary drug has been detected frequently in the environment. In this study, six biochars produced from tea waste (TW) at 300 and 700 °C with or without N2 and steam activation were characterized and evaluated for SMT sorption in water. The sorption of SMT was interpreted as a function of biochar production condition, SMT concentration, pH and physicochemical characteristics of biochar. Distribution coefficient data showed high sorption of SMT at low pH (∼3) and the highest sorption density of 33.81 mg g(-1) was achieved by the steam activated biochar produced at 700 °C. The steam activation process increased the adsorption capacity by increasing the surface area of the biochar. The π-π electron donor-acceptor interaction, cation-π interaction and cation exchange at low pH were the primary mechanisms governing SMT retention by biochars. Overall, steam activated tea waste biochar could be a promising remedy of SMT removal from water.

Keywords: Black carbon; Charcoal; Emerging contaminant; Low cost adsorbent; Veterinary antibiotics.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Charcoal / chemistry*
Hot Temperature*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Models, Statistical
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Steam
Sulfamethazine / analysis
Sulfamethazine / chemistry*
Tea / chemistry*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
Water Purification / methods*

Substances

Steam
Tea
Water Pollutants, Chemical
biochar
Charcoal
Sulfamethazine