Biochar/nano-zerovalent zinc-based materials for arsenic removal from contaminated water

• Published in: International journal of phytoremediation 2023, Vol.25 (9), p.1155-1164
• Main Authors: Masood ul Hasan, Israr, Javed, Haram, Hussain, Muhammad Mahroz, Shakoor, Muhammad Bilal, Bibi, Irshad, Shahid, Muhammad, Farwa, , Xu, Nengneng, Wei, Qunshan, Qiao, Jinli, Niazi, Nabeel Khan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alginates; Alginic acid; Arsenic; Arsenic removal; Biomaterial; Charcoal; contamination; Desorption; Drinking water; Fourier transforms; Functional groups; groundwater remediation; Hydroxyapatite; Infrared spectroscopy; nanotechnology; plant residue; Pollutant removal; Sorbents; Sorption; sustainability; Water pollution; Zinc
• ISSN: 1522-6514; 1549-7879
• DOI: 10.1080/15226514.2022.2140778

In this study, we explored the potential of a newly prepared nano-zero valent zinc (nZVZn), biochar (BC)/nZVZn and BC/hydroxyapatite-alginate (BC/HA-alginate) composites for the removal of inorganic As species from water. Relatively, higher percentage removal of As(III) and As(V) was obtained by nZVZn at pH 3.4 (96% and 94%, respectively) compared to BC/nZVZn (90% and 88%) and BC/HA-alginate (88% and 80%) at pH 7.2. Freundlich model provided the best fit (R 2 = up to 0.98) for As(III) and As(V) sorption data of all the sorbents, notably for nZVZn. The pseudo-second order model well-described kinetics of As(III) and As(V) (R 2 = 0.99) sorption on all the sorbents. The desorption experiments demonstrated that the As removal efficiency, up to the third sorption/desorption cycle, was in the order of nZVZn ∼ BC/HA-alginate (88%) > BC/nZVZn (84%). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy depicted that the -OH, -COOH, Zn-O and Zn-OH surface functional groups were responsible for the sorption of As(III) or As(V) on the sorbents investigated here. This study highlights that removal of As species from water by BC/nZVZn composite can be compared with nZVZn, suggesting that integrating BC with nZVZn could efficiently remove As from As-contaminated drinking water. This is the first study to explore the potential of a newly prepared sugarcane bagasse biochar/nano-zerovalent zinc (BC/nZVZn) based composite for the removal of inorganic arsenic (As) species from water. The results indicated high percentage removal of As(III) and As(V) from water by BC/nZVZn that were comparable to nZVZn alone.