Cold plasma-assisted regeneration of biochar for dye adsorption

Dharma Raj Kandel; Hee-Jun Kim; Jeong-Muk Lim; Milan Babu Poudel; Min Cho; Hyun-Woo Kim; Byung-Taek Oh; Changwoon Nah; Seung Hee Lee; Bipeen Dahal; Jaewoo Lee

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136638

Cold plasma-assisted regeneration of biochar for dye adsorption

Chemosphere. 2022 Dec;309(Pt 1):136638. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136638. Epub 2022 Sep 29.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
³ Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Jeonbuk National University, Iksan, 54596, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Convergence Technology Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Environmental Engineering, Division of Civil, Environmental, Mineral Resource and Energy Engineering, Soil Environment Research Center, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Nano Convergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Department of Nano Convergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea; Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, 54896, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jaewoolee@jbnu.ac.kr.

PMID: 36183884
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136638

Abstract

Environmental remedies, including adsorption-based water purification, are now being asked to meet the requirement for a low-carbon circular economy requiring low energy and low material consumption. In this regard, we tested the possibility of regenerating adsorbents via cold plasma (CP) treatment for less use of adsorbents and no washing solution. In the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) using carbonized rice husk (CRH) and five successive regeneration cycles by CP treatment, the removal efficiencies were maintained at a moderate level (∼70% of the initial performance), unlike five consecutive adsorption without CP treatment (∼9-13% of the initial performance). The regeneration of CRH by CP treatment was also double-checked by the FESEM, EDS, BET, FTIR, XPS, and surface zeta potential measurements. The successfully recovered adsorption capability is related to the remediation of adsorption sites. It is also worth noting that the required power consumption for recycling by CP treatment was about 6.4 times lower than carbonizing new rice husks. This work provides insights into recovering adsorbents using CP without rigorous, costly, and energy-intensive processes.

Keywords: Adsorption; Biochar; Cold plasma; Methylene blue; Regeneration.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Charcoal
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Kinetics
Methylene Blue
Oryza*
Plasma Gases*
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

biochar
Methylene Blue
Plasma Gases
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Charcoal