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Biochar Derived from the Stem of Ricinus communis L. and Colocasia esculanta: Efficient Adsorbent for the Removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) Ions from an Aqueous Environment

  • PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY OF WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES
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Abstract

Potassium carbonate-activated biochar derived from the stems of Ricinus communis (RCSB) and Colocasia esculanta (CESB) was used for the efficient removal of Cd2+ and Pb2+ (50 mg L–1 each) from synthetic wastewater. These two ions’ adsorption is higher than that of other tested heavy metal ions (viz. Ni2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Hg2+, As5+, and Cr6+ ions). Different adsorption parameters (pH, metal concentration, time, dosage, and temperature) were studied to get the optimized result. The adsorption isotherm, kinetics, thermodynamics, and mechanism were studied. The adsorption isotherm studies indicate that heavy metal ion biosorption follows the Freundlich isotherm. The adsorption kinetic model can be best described as pseudo-second-order, and the adsorption mechanism is physical adsorption. The optimum conditions for the adsorption of Cd2+ and lead Pb2+ by activated biochars were: adsorption time 120 min, temperature 20–25°C, and pH between 6.8 and 7.2. The adsorption capacity of Cd-RCSB, Cd-CESB was ~55 mg g–1, and that of Pb-RCSB, Pb-CESB was found to be ~76 mg g–1. The adsorption thermodynamics showed that the adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. Desorption studies show that biochar can be recycled for up to 5 cycles. All these results can be summed up to show that RCSB and CESB have good potential for removal of heavy metal ions (particularly Cd2+ and Pb2+) from an aqueous environment up to 99%.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are thankful to the Center for the Environment and Central Instrument Facility (CIF), IIT Guwahati, for providing necessary instrumental facilities.

Funding

The financial support by DBT (Department of Biotechnology) New Delhi, India, through research grants BT/COE/34/SP28408/2018 is highly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Environment, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India

    Partha Protim Bakal &  Gopal Das

  2. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India

    Gopal Das

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  1. Partha Protim Bakal
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  2. Gopal Das
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Contributions

Partha Protim Bakal: conceptualization, writing (original draft preparation), methodology, formal analysis, and investigation. Gopal Das: conceptualization, writing (review and editing), resources, and supervision.

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Correspondence to Gopal Das.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY

The data supporting this study’s findings are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Partha Protim Bakal, Gopal Das Biochar Derived from the Stem of Ricinus communis L. and Colocasia esculanta: Efficient Adsorbent for the Removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) Ions from an Aqueous Environment. J. Water Chem. Technol. 45, 200–210 (2023). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1063455X23030025

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