Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (1): 119-129.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2022.0851

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Study on the Adsorption Mechanism of Sodium Hydroxide Modified Biochar/Attapulgite Composites for Lead and Cadmium

GUO Miao1,2, LI Bei-bei1,3, XU Lin-yue4, ZHANG Ya-ping3, HE Yue4   

  1. 1. Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210042, China;
    2. Sichuan Institute of Geological Engineering Investigation Group Co. Ltd., Chengdu 610000, China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Energy Thermal Conversion and Control of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China;
    4. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China
  • Received:2022-08-17 Online:2024-01-25 Published:2024-01-23

Abstract: A novel rice straw biochar/ attapulgite composite (BA) was prepared by pyrolysis under anoxic conditions with rice straw and attapulgite, which was modified with sodium hydroxide to improve its adsorption performance. Batch adsorption experiments, including adsorption kinetics, isothermal adsorption and change of initial pH, were conducted to investigate the adsorption behavior of composite materials in single and binary pollution systems of Cd and Pb. SEM-EDS, BET, FTIR, XRD, and XPS were used to analyze the adsorption mechanisms of modified composites of Cd and Pb. The results show that the adsorption capacity of sodium hydroxide modified composite (NBA) for Cd2+ and Pb2+ was 117.05 and 274.65 mg·g-1, respectively, and the removal efficiency of NBA was increased by 31.2% and 51.7%, respectively, compared with BA. In the binary metal system, the adsorption capacity of NBA was also significantly better than that of BA. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model and the Langmuir isotherm model could describe the Cd2+ and Pb2+ adsorption processes of the composites better, which proves that the adsorption is mainly a single molecule chemical adsorption process. In addition, competitive adsorption analysis showed that Pb2+ was more easily adsorbed by composite materials than Cd2+ in coexisting solutions. The characterization method determined the adsorption mechanism of NBA for Cd2+ and Pb2+, mainly including the complexation with surface functional groups, precipitation with minerals and π-electron interaction. In conclusion, NBA is a highly potential adsorption material for the treatment of heavy metal pollution in wastewater.

Key words: biochar, attapulgite, heavy metal, modification, mechanism

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