Highly efficient removal of thallium in wastewater by MnFe2O4-biochar composite

Juan Liu; Shixing Ren; Jielong Cao; Daniel C W Tsang; Jingzi Beiyuan; Yutao Peng; Fa Fang; Jingye She; Meiling Yin; Nengping Shen; Jin Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123311

Highly efficient removal of thallium in wastewater by MnFe₂O₄-biochar composite

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Jan 5:401:123311. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123311. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Authors

Juan Liu¹, Shixing Ren², Jielong Cao², Daniel C W Tsang³, Jingzi Beiyuan⁴, Yutao Peng⁵, Fa Fang², Jingye She², Meiling Yin², Nengping Shen⁶, Jin Wang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China.
⁵ Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmyard Soil Pollution Prevention-control and Remediation; College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 32652417
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123311

Abstract

Thallium (Tl), is a highly toxic trace metal in the natural environment. Emerging Tl pollution in waters has gradually become a global concern. However, limited removal technologies are available for Tl-containing wastewater. Herein, MnFe₂O₄-biochar composite (MFBC) was successfully fabricated via coprecipitation method as a novel and efficient adsorbent for treating Tl(I)-contaminated wastewater. It was found that the MFBC, with a specific surface area of 187.03 m²/g, exhibited high performance across a wide pH range of 4-11, with the superior Tl(I) removal capacity (170.55 mg/g) based on Langmuir model (pH 6.0, a dosage of 1 g/L). The removal mechanisms included physical and chemical adsorption, ion exchange, surface complexation, and oxidation. This investigation revealed that MFBC is a promising and environmentally friendly adsorbent with a low cost, large specific surface area, magnetic properties, and high efficiency for the removal of Tl(I) from wastewater.

Keywords: Engineered biochar; Industrial wastewater treatment; Iron/manganese coprecipitation; Sustainable engineering; Thallium remediation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Charcoal
Kinetics
Thallium / analysis
Wastewater*
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
biochar
Charcoal
Thallium