Adsorption Characteristics of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn from Aqueous Solutions onto Reed Biochar
Ik-Won Choi, Jae-Hoon Kim, Soo-Hyung Lee, Jae-Kwan Lee, Dong-Cheol Seo
1, and Ju-Sik Cho
2* Water Environmental Engineering Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 22689, Korea
1
Division of Applied Life Science (BK21 plus) & Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Gyeongsang National
University, Jinju 52828, Korea
2
Department of Bio-Environmental Sciences, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea
(Received: August 16 2016, Revised: October 5 2016, Accepted: October 24 2016)
Carbon-based sorbents such as biochar and activated carbon have been proven to be cost-effective in removing pollutants containing heavy metals from wastewater. The aim of this study was using batch experiment to evaluate the adsorption characteristics of heavy metals in single-metal conditions onto reed biochar for treating wastewater containing heavy metals. The removal rates of heavy metals were in the order of Pb > Cu
≒ Cd ≒ Zn, showing the adsorption efficiency of Pb was higher than the other heavy metals. Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were used to model the equilibrium adsorption data obtained from adsorption of Pb on reed biochar. For reed biochar, the Langmuir model provided a slightly better fit than the Freundlich model. Lead was observed on the biochar surface after adsorption by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The main functional groups of reed biochar were aromatic carbons. Overall, the results suggested that reed biochar could be useful adsorbent for treating wastewater containing Pb.
Key words: Biochar, Reed, Heavy metals, Freundlich model, Langmuir model
Scanning electron microphotographs and X-ray energy dispersion spectra of Pb adsorption biochar (×500).
1)
*Corresponding author: Phone: +82617503297, Fax: +82617528011, E-mail: [email protected]
§