Biochars prepared from rabbit manure for the adsorption of rhodamine B and Congo red: Characterisation, kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic studies

Abstract

Biochar was prepared from rabbit faeces (RFB550) at 550 °C through pyrolysis and was characterised using elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The related factors, kinetics, isothermal curves and thermodynamics of the adsorption behaviours were investigated by conducting batch experiments. The results revealed the adsorption equilibrium of rhodamine B (RhB) and Congo red (CR) onto RFB550 with initial concentrations of 30 mg · L-1 at 25 °C and 210 min, and the best adsorption was observed when the pH of the RhB and CR solutions was 3 and 5, respectively. Pseudo-second-order kinetics was the most suitable model for describing the adsorption of RhB and CR onto RFB550, indicating that the rate-limiting step was mainly chemical adsorption. The isotherm data were best described by the Freundlich model, and the adsorption process was multi-molecular layer adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters revealed the spontaneous adsorption of RhB and CR onto RFB550. According to the results of the FTIR analysis, the oxygen-containing functional groups and aromatic structures on the surface of RFB550 provided abundant adsorption sites for RhB and CR, and the adsorption mechanism was potentially related to the hydrogen bonds and p-p bonds.