Superior removal of humic acid from aqueous stream using novel calf bones charcoal nanoadsorbent in a reversible process

Seyedeh Parvin Moussavi; Abudukeremu Kadier; Raghuveer Singh; Razieh Ashoori; Maryam Shirinkar; Jun Lu; Nur Syamimi Zaidi; Farooq Sher

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134673

Superior removal of humic acid from aqueous stream using novel calf bones charcoal nanoadsorbent in a reversible process

Chemosphere. 2022 Aug:301:134673. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134673. Epub 2022 Apr 21.

Authors

Seyedeh Parvin Moussavi¹, Abudukeremu Kadier², Raghuveer Singh³, Razieh Ashoori⁴, Maryam Shirinkar⁵, Jun Lu⁶, Nur Syamimi Zaidi⁷, Farooq Sher⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
² Laboratory of Environmental Science and Technology, The Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: abudukeremu@ms.xjb.ac.cn.
³ Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
⁴ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁶ School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212003, China.
⁷ School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security (IPASA), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.
⁸ Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Farooq.Sher@ntu.ac.uk.

PMID: 35461895
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134673

Abstract

While the potable water disinfection regimen has significantly reduced waterborne diseases, development of disinfection byproducts (DBP) during this process has brought a global threat to the environment and human health. The most notorious water pollutant, humic acid (HA), transforms into carcinogenic byproducts during the disinfection process (chlorination) of water treatment. HA removal methods are neither economic nor widely available. This study addresses the most urgent global issue of HA removal by developing an innovative and self-regenerative process based on a low-cost and self-regenerative calf bone char (CBC) that removed 92.1-100% of HA. CBC-based HA removal has not been described yet. The developed CBC, as a super adsorbent of HA, was initially characterized by a scanning electron microscope. Various parameters of adsorption/desorption and self-regeneration of CBC adsorbent were experimentally determined. Results show that prepared CBC with a 112 m²/g surface area exhibited adsorption of 38.08 mg/g (HA = 20 mg/L, pH = 4.0) which is several folds higher than the typical amount of HA present in water. The 30 m reaction time was enough to remove HA which is the shorter HA time in comparison to other similar studies. The increase of HA from 0.5 to 5 g/L, raises % HA removal (36.7-99.8%) while a pH decrease (10-4) increases adsorption (12.3-98.3%). The adsorption data fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm which demonstrate that adsorption takes place by a monolayer formation. Thermodynamic constants supported the endothermic, spontaneous and reversible nature of adsorption which can attain 100% HA removal. 100% regeneration of exhausted CBC by NaOH further supports the sustainability of the process. CBC as a new adsorbent material thus provides an economical and sustainable water pre-treatment procedure. The present study provides technical guidance for building a cost-effective and scalable process capable of providing clean water.

Keywords: Adsorbent; Calf bone char (CBC); Green synthesis; Humic acid (HA); Isotherm; Kinetic study; Sustainable treatment and wastewater.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Charcoal / chemistry
Humans
Humic Substances / analysis
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Kinetics
Thermodynamics
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Purification* / methods

Substances

Humic Substances
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Charcoal