Potential use of Ulva intestinalis-derived biochar adsorbing phosphate ions in the cultivation of winter wheat Tristicum aestivum.

In this work, the properties of biochar produced from green macroalga Ulva intestinalis by pyrolysis were studied at temperatures of 300, 500, and 700 °C. This biochar was characterized in terms of multielemental composition, BET surface area, total pore volume, and biosorption properties toward phosphate ions. Biochar produced at 700 °C-25 m2/g had the highest surface area. The kinetics and isotherms of sorption processes of phosphate ions as sorbate by these sorbents were investigated. Modified biochar was able to remove 84.3% of phosphate ions from wastewater, whereas non-modified biochar-only 40.6%. Hence, biochar enriched with phosphate ions can serve as a valuable soil amendment. Pot experiments performed on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) with a 3% addition of dry Ulva intestinalis, pristine biochar, and Mg-modified biochar enriched with phosphate ions showed that these amendments stimulated plant growth (length and fresh weight of plants) as well as enlarging the chlorophyll content in leaves. Our results indicate that the production of biochar (pristine and Mg-impregnated) is a sustainable option to valorize the biomass of seaweeds, and to recycle phosphorus from wastewater.

Micropore Size Distribution and Surface Characteristics Co-influence on 4-Chlorophenol Adsorption Mechanism from Organic Solvents.

The effects of co-influence of pore size distribution and surface chemistry of activated carbon (AC) on the p-chlorophenol (PCP) adsorption from water, heptane, and cyclohexane have been studied. To modify the surface basicity, commercial activated carbon and ash-free commercial activated carbon were subjected to heat treatment in a hydrogen atmosphere. The ACs were also oxidized with hydrogen peroxide to increase the acidity. All applied modifications caused negligible changes in the porous texture and a significant modification on the surface characteristics. The adsorption of PCP was carried out in static conditions at an ambient temperature. The time needed to obtain the adsorption equilibrium from organic solvent was shorter than from water. The boundary layer effect was found to increase in the direction of water < cyclohexane < heptane and was heteroatom-dependent. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms showed all spectrum of isotherm types according to the Giles classification. The strong relationship between the volume of the PCP adsorbed and the volume of ACs micropore with size smaller than 1.6 nm was presented. This work shows that the surface heterogeneity influences the adsorption mechanism in the low adsorbate concentration range, more specifically, the final adsorption capacity is pore-size-dependent regardless of the kind of solvent used.

Influence of pore size distribution on the adsorption of phenol on PET-based activated carbons.

The role of pore size distribution in the adsorption of phenol in aqueous solutions on polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based activated carbons (ACs) has been analyzed. The ACs were prepared from PET and mixtures of PET with coal-tar pitch (CTP) by means of carbonization and subsequent steam and carbon dioxide activation at 850 and 950 °C, respectively. The resultant ACs were characterized on the basis of similarities in their surface chemical features and differences in their micropore size distributions. The adsorption of phenol was carried out in static conditions at ambient temperature. The pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir model were found to fit the experimental data very well. The different adsorption capacities of the ACs towards phenol were attributed to differences in their micropore size distributions. Adsorption capacity was favoured by the volume of pores with a size smaller than 1.4 nm; but restricted by pores smaller than 0.8 nm.

Development of mesoporosity during phosphoric acid activation of wood in steam atmosphere.

Oak and birch were used as precursors to produce the activated carbons (ACs) with well-developed mesoporosity by phosphoric acid-promoted activation in a steam atmosphere. The effect of experimental variables such as the amount of activating agent, the soaking time and the type of wood on the development of porous structure upon heating at 480 degrees C was investigated. The materials were characterized by N2 adsorption at 77K, mercury porosimetry and elemental analysis. It was demonstrated that increasing impregnation ratio favors the development of micropores and small mesopores of 2-5nm, whereas the soaking time promotes the creation of large mesopores, between 10 and 50nm. Compared to birch, the oak activation using phosphoric acid in the same conditions gives ACs with lower mesopore volume and higher contribution of small mesopores that reflects the differences between both precursors in their biopolymer composition. The presence of steam in the H3PO4 activation process compared to nitrogen facilitates the development of mesoporosity to much higher extent for the birch than that of oak. The ACs prepared in this work show the BET surface area ranging from 800 to 2250m2g(-1), the total pore volume of 0.35-2.04cm3g(-1) with mesopore fraction between 0.06 and 0.68.

Adsorption of lignite-derived humic acids on coal-based mesoporous activated carbons.

The adsorption by a coal-based mesoporous activated carbon of humic acids (HAs) isolated from two Polish lignites was studied. For comparison, a commercial Aldrich humic acid was also included into this study. The differences in chemical structure and functional groups of HAs were determined by elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy DRIFT. Two activated carbons used differed in terms of mesopore volume, mesopore size distribution, and chemical properties of the surface. The kinetics of adsorption of HAs have been discussed using three kinetic models, i.e., the first-order Lagergren model, the pseudo-second-order model, and the intraparticle diffusion model. It was found that the adsorption of HAs from alkaline solution on mesoporous activated carbon proceeds according to the pseudo-second-order model. The correlation coefficients were close to 1. The intraparticle diffusion of HA molecules within the carbon particle was identified to be the rate-limiting step. Comparing the two activated carbons, the carbon with a higher volume of pores with widths of 10-50 nm showed a greater removal efficiency of HA. An increase in the Freundlich adsorption capacity with decreasing carbon content of HA was observed. Among the HAs studied, S-HA shows characteristics indicating the highest contribution of small-size fraction. The S-HA was removed by both activated carbons to the highest extent. The effect of pH solution on the adsorption of HA was examined over the range pH 5.4-12.2. It was found that the extent of adsorption decreased with decreasing pH of the solution.