Preparation of lignin-based mesoporous biochar nano- and microparticles, and their adsorption properties for hexavalent chromium
The removal performance and mechanism of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution was studied for a novel micro-nano particle kraft lignin biochar (BC) pyrolyzed at 400 to 700 °C. The physicochemical properties of BC were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results illustrated that the BC had irregular micro- and nanoparticles with abundant pore structure and high BET surface area (111.1 m2/g). The FT-IR results showed that the lower pyrolysis temperature resulted in more oxygen-containing functional groups. The Cr(VI) adsorption capacity decreased with the pyrolysis temperature increasing from 400 to 700 °C, and the maximum percentage removal of Cr(VI) for BC obtained at 400 °C was 100% at pH 2, which suggested that the removal efficiency was mainly dependent on functional groups. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that Cr(VI) adsorption on BC fit well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption data was well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm models, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 37.2 mg/g at 298K. The BC could be reused twice with Cr(VI) removal of 63.91% and was suitable for Cr(VI) contaminated waste-water treatment.