Efficient enrichment of uranium (VI) in aqueous solution using magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxide composite phosphate-modified hydrothermal biochar: Mechanism and adsorption.

This study presents the successful synthesis of Magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxide composite phosphate-modified hydrothermal biochar for efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. A novel synthesis approach involving phosphate thermal polymerization-hydrothermal method was employed, deviating from conventional pyrolysis methods, to produce hydrothermal biochar. The combination of solvent thermal polymerization technique with hydrothermal process facilitated efficient loading of layered double hydroxide (LDH) components onto the biochar surface, ensuring simplicity, low energy consumption and enhanced modifiability. Bamboo waste was utilized as the precursor for biochar, highlighting its superior green and sustainable characteristics. Additionally, this study elucidated the interactions between phosphate-modified hydrothermal biochar and LDH components with U(VI). Physicochemical analysis demonstrated that the composite biochar possessed a high surface area and abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. XPS and FTIR analyses confirmed the efficient adsorption of U(VI), attributed to chelation interactions between phosphate groups, magnesium hydroxyl groups, hydroxyl groups and U(VI), as well as the co-precipitation of U(VI) with multi-hydroxyl aluminum cations captured by LDH. The composite biochar reached adsorption equilibrium with U(VI) within 80 min and exhibited excellent fitting to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model. Under conditions of pH = 4 and 298 K, it displayed significantly high maximum adsorption capacity of approximately 388.81 mg g⁻1, surpassing untreated biochar by 17-fold. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous and even after five consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles, the removal efficiency of U(VI) remained stable at 75.46%. These findings underscore the promising application prospects of Magnesium-aluminum layered double hydroxide composite phosphate-modified hydrothermal biochar in efficiently separating U(VI) from uranium-containing wastewater, emphasizing its environmental and economic value.

Hydrochar coupled with iodide for efficient photodegradation of perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid under ultraviolet light.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are typical emerging persistent organic pollutants that are raising concerns regarding their environmental persistence. The photodegradation of these chemicals in water can be promoted by generating hydrated electrons (eaq-). The present work demonstrates a highly efficient process combining ultraviolet (UV) radiation, hydrochar (H-BC) and KI that is capable of decomposing PFOA and PFOS. After 60 min of photolysis using this technique, 99.5 % and 94.1 % of the initial amounts of PFOA and PFOS in aqueous solution were degraded, respectively, with corresponding defluorination percentages of 87.8 % and 71.7 %, respectively. These degradation values were higher than the sum of those obtained using UV radiation with only H-BC or KI, implying a synergistic effect from the combination of H-BC and KI. This effect can be attributed to the unique structure and numerous oxygen-containing functional groups of the H-BC. This material was able to absorb PFOA and PFOS, reduce iodide oxidation products back to I-, act as an electron shuttle and shorten the diffusion distance to the target substrate. These factors all increased the probability of reactions between the contaminants and eaq-. Analyses by liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry showed that short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids with less than seven carbons were the primary degradation intermediates, suggesting that the photodegradation proceeded stepwise. These results confirmed the cooperative effect of the H-BC and iodide, leading to effective eaq- generation. This work is expected to facilitate the development of new strategies for the treatment of water systems contaminated with PFOA and PFOS.

Enhanced adsorption of Pb(II) onto modified hydrochar: Modeling and mechanism analysis.

A highly efficient modified hydrochar material by H2O2 and ultrasonic synergistic treatment was prepared for Pb2+ removal in aqueous solution. The removal mechanism was investigated by a number of techniques and was provided by quantitative calculation. The maximum adsorption capacity of Pb2+ by the modified hydrochar was calculated to be 92.80 mg g-1 at pH 5.0 and 298 K, which was more than 42 times higher than pristine hydrochar (2.20 mg g-1) and much higher than the other reported modified hydrochar materials. The characterization results showed that H2O2 treatment changed elemental composition, surface charge and increased oxygen-containing functional groups of the hydrochar. The mechanism study indicated that complexation with free carboxyl and hydroxyl and cation-π interaction were main mechanisms responsible for Pb2+ sorption and their corresponding contribution percentage of different mechanisms to the Pb2+ sorption was accounting for 62.12%, 27.14% and 10.74%, respectively.

Effect of H2O2 concentrations on copper removal using the modified hydrothermal biochar.

This study investigated effect of H2O2 concentrations on copper removal using H2O2 modified hydrothermal carbonization Cymbopogon schoenanthus L. Spreng (HLG). Sorption behaviors of Cu (II) on the modified HLG by 20% H2O2 (mHLG2) could be the most desirable. Based on Langmuir isotherm, the maximum amount of Cu (II) uptake was in the sequence of mHLG2 (53.8mgg(-1))>mHLG1 (44.2mgg(-1))>mHLG3 (42.0mgg(-1))>mHLG0 (35.8mgg(-1)), which was higher than the results from majority of previous studies, suggesting that H2O2 modification advanced sorption capacity of hydrothermal biochars evidently. Effect mechanisms exploration indicated that the difference of Cu (II) removal by biochars before and after the modification was mainly related to functional groups. Carboxylic group was responsible for the best sorption property of Cu (II) by mHLG2, which was attributed to its significant relationships with H2O2 modification and Cu (II) removal.