Co-modification of Biochar and Bentonite for Adsorption and Stabilization of Pb2+ ions

Abstract

Heavy metals can seriously endanger human health and the ecological environment due to their toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulative nature. In this study, an alkali-modified biochar-bentonite composite (CaO-Bent-CB) was prepared by alkali modification of corncob residues and bentonite mixture by calcium chloride and calcination at high temperature under anaerobic conditions. The CaO-Bent-CB composite has a specific surface area of 441.1 m2/g, which is significantly higher than CB (132.7 m2/g) and CaO-CB (177.2 m2/g). Meanwhile, the adsorption perfermance of CaO-Bent-CB to lead ions in water was evaluated. The results showed that the removal efficiency reached 98% after 6 h-adsorption, and the adsorption capacity was 109.6 mg/g when the concentration of lead ion was 120 mg/L, the weight ratio of bentonite to corncob residues was 1:5, and the dosage was 1 g/L. The adsorption capacity of CaO-Bent-CB was higher than that of CB (13.4 mg/g), bentonite (72.9 mg/g) and CaO-CB (86.9 mg/g). Moreover, the lead ion contaminated soil was stabilized by CaO-Bent-CB. When the concentration of lead ion in soil is 2200 mg/kg, and the loading of CaO-Bent-CB is 8% of soil, the concentration of lead ions in acid leachate (H2SO4-HNO3, pH=3.2, 12 h-soaking) is 4.5 mg/L, which is lower than the standard value of hazardous waste identification (5 mg/L). The results show that CaO-Bent-CB has a great potential in the water treatment and heavy metals removal in soil.