Ni(II) Adsorption on Biochars Produced from Different Types of Biomass

Mourgela, Rafaila-Nikola; Regkouzas, Panagiotis; Pellera, Frantseska-Maria; Diamadopoulos, Evan

Ni(II) Adsorption on Biochars Produced from Different Types of Biomass

2020

Mourgela, Rafaila-Nikola | Regkouzas, Panagiotis | Pellera, Frantseska-Maria | Diamadopoulos, Evan

The objective of this study was to demonstrate biochar’s effectiveness on Ni(II) removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption on three different biochars. Three different waste feedstocks, namely sewage sludge, exhausted olive pomace and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, were used to produce biochar through pyrolysis at 300 °C, under inert conditions. The obtained biochars were characterized regarding their main properties and then evaluated as potential Ni(II) adsorbents. All investigated materials showed high adsorption efficiency in the range of 78–97%, with the biochar derived from SS exhibiting the best results, possibly because of its higher cation exchange capacity. Ni(II) removal rates were higher when the adsorption experiments were conducted at natural pH, while the removal efficiency under adjusted pH (acidic or alkaline) was slightly lower. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model adequately described the adsorption kinetics depicting high correlation coefficients, while the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model was successful in simulating equilibrium of adsorption.

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