Rapid remediation of pharmaceuticals from wastewater using magnetic Fe3O4/Douglas fir biochar adsorbents.

Rapid remediation of pharmaceuticals from wastewater using magnetic Fe3O4/Douglas fir biochar adsorbents. Chemosphere. 2020 Nov;258:127336 Authors: Liyanage AS, Canaday S, Pittman CU, Mlsna T Abstract Modification of commercially available Douglas fir biochar (BC) by iron oxide nanoparticle precipitation from aqueous Fe2+/Fe3+ salt solutions upon NaOH treatment generated a hybrid adsorbent (MBC) that removed three common emerging aqueous contaminants, a stimulant (caffeine) and two anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen and acetylsalicylic acid) through batch sorption. Fe3O4 particles (12.3 ± 7.1 nm diameter fundamental particles with aggregates 1-17 μm diameter) dispersed on the biochar surface provided magnetization and created new adsorption sites for the contaminant uptake. These smaller quasi-spherical, octahedral Fe3O4 particles as well as the spindle-like Fe2O3 particles were observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of MBC, and the composition was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Adsorption features were evaluated using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The Langmuir adsorption capacities on MBC at 35 °C have increased from 24.6 ± 0.4 to 75.1 ± 1.8 mg/g for caffeine, 17.5 ± 0.4 to 39.9 ± 1.2 mg/g for ibuprofen and 106.2 ± 2.8 to 149.9 ± 4.5 mg/g for acetylsalicylic acid after Fe3O4 modification. Fast adsorption resulted in equilibrium within 5 min. MBC has potential as...
Source: Chemosphere - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Chemosphere Source Type: research