Heat-Treated Biochar Impregnated with Zero-Valent IRON Nanoparticles for Organic Contaminants Removal from Aqueous Phase: Material Characterizations and Kinetic Studies

Authors

Soroosh Mortazavian, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Tammy L. Jones-Lepp, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Jee-Hwan Bae, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)Follow
Dongwon Chun, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)Follow
Erick R. Bandala, Desert Research InstituteFollow
Jaeyun Moon, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2019

Publication Title

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

First page number:

1

Last page number:

18

Abstract

Biochar (BC) is an inexpensive and widely available carbon-based material with a variety of applications. Zero valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI), on the other hand, are highly reactive species. However, agglomeration and difficulty of separation from the treated media are the major reported drawbacks associated with nZVI application for water treatment. In this study, BC was modified by a simple heat-treatment, producing hydrophilic heat-treated biochar (HBC) with enhanced absorptive features, and was impregnated with nZVI, producing BC/nZVI composite for efficient organic contaminant removal. Synthesis conditions of BC/nZVI composite were optimized by evaluating p-nitrosodimethylaniline (pNDA) bleaching efficiency of various BC/nZVI samples synthesized under different conditions of pH, ultrasonication amplitude, and iron concentration. Variously-synthesized HBCs were then used to synthesize HBC/nZVI composites, and were characterized for surface morphology, surface chemistry, and elemental composition. The best-performing HBC/nZVI for pNDA bleaching was then used for trichloroethylene (TCE) removal from water. Using HBC/nZVI or BC/nZVI composites, the pseudo-second order model fit indicated a chemisorption mechanism for organic contaminants removal. Using 250 mg L−1 of the best-performing HBC/nZVI, an 88% TCE reduction (initial concentration of 40 μg L−1) was achieved after 20 min at pH = 3.0, with a rate of 3.318 g mg−1 min−1.

Keywords

Biochar modification; Hydrophilic biochar; Surface functional groups; p-nitrosodimethylaniline (RNO); Pore structure analysis; Trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation

Disciplines

Chemical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering

Language

English

Repository Citation

Mortazavian, S., Jones-Lepp, T. L., Bae, J., Chun, D., Bandala, E. R., Moon, J. (2019). Heat-Treated Biochar Impregnated with Zero-Valent IRON Nanoparticles for Organic Contaminants Removal from Aqueous Phase: Material Characterizations and Kinetic Studies. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 1-18.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2019.03.041