Removing ammonium from water using modified corncob-biochar

Thi Mai Vu; Van Tuyen Trinh; Dinh Phuong Doan; Huu Tap Van; Tien Vinh Nguyen; Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran; Huu Hao Ngo

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.050

Removing ammonium from water using modified corncob-biochar

Sci Total Environ. 2017 Feb 1:579:612-619. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.050. Epub 2016 Nov 24.

Authors

Thi Mai Vu¹, Van Tuyen Trinh², Dinh Phuong Doan³, Huu Tap Van⁴, Tien Vinh Nguyen⁵, Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran⁶, Huu Hao Ngo⁷

Affiliations

¹ Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 44 Phu Dien, Tu Niem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
² Institute of Environmental Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, A30, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
³ Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
⁴ Faculty of Environment and Earth Science, Thai Nguyen University of Sciences, Tan Thinh ward, Thai Nguyen city, Viet Nam.
⁵ Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: Tien.Nguyen@uts.edu.au.
⁶ Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia.
⁷ Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: HuuHao.Ngo@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 27890415
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.050

Abstract

Ammonium pollution in groundwater and surface water is of major concern in many parts of the world due to the danger it poses to the environment and people's health. This study focuses on the development of a low cost adsorbent, specifically a modified biochar prepared from corncob. Evaluated here is the efficiency of this new material for removing ammonium from synthetic water (ammonium concentration from 10 to 100mg/L). The characteristics of the modified biochar were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that ammonium adsorption on modified biochar strongly depended on pH. Adsorption kinetics of NH₄⁺-N using modified biochar followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Both Langmuir and Sips adsorption isotherm models could simulate well the adsorption behavior of ammonium on modificated biochar. The highest adsorption capacity of 22.6mg NH₄⁺-N/g modified biochar was obtained when the biochar was modified by soaking it in HNO₃ 6M and NaOH 0.3M for 8h and 24h, respectively. The high adsorption capacity of the modified biochar suggested that it is a promising adsorbent for NH₄⁺-N remediation from water.

Keywords: Adsorption; Ammonium; Biochar; Corncob.