Functionality of wheat straw-derived biochar enhanced its efficiency for actively capping Cd and Pb in contaminated water and soil matrices: Insights through batch adsorption and flow-through experiments.

ABSTRACT

The impact of functionality of biochar on pressing environmental issue of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) co-contamination in simultaneous soil and water systems has not sufficiently reported. This study investigated the impact of Fe- and Mg-functionalized wheat straw biochar (Fe-WSBC and Mg-WSBC) on Cd and Pb adsorption/immobilization through batch sorption and column leaching trials. Importantly, Fe-WSBC was more effective in adsorbing Cd and Pb (82.84 and 111.24 mg g-1), regeneration ability (removal efficiency 94.32 and 92.365), and competitive ability under competing cations (83.15 and 84.36%) compared to other materials (WSBC and Mg-WSBC). The practical feasibility of Fe-WSBC for spiked river water verified the 92.57% removal of Cd and 85.73% for Pb in 50 mg L-1 and 100 mg L-1 contamination, respectively. Besides, the leaching of Cd and Pb with Fe-WSBC under flow-through conditions was lowered to (0.326 and 17.62 mg L-1), respectively as compared to control (CK) (0.836 and 40.40 mg L-1). In short, this study presents the applicable approach for simultaneous remediation of contaminated water and soil matrices, offering insights into environmentally friendly green remediation strategies for heavy metals co-contaminated matrices.