Iron and silicon modified biochar for enhancing cadmium removal from water: Unveiling the crucial role of iron-induced silicon dissolution.

The interaction mechanisms of silicon (Si) and active ingredient iron (Fe) on cadmium (Cd) removal are still unknown. Herein, the Fe/Si modified biochar (Fe/Si-BC) was synthesized to enhance Cd removal by pre-immersion of Fe and ball milling loading of Si. Detailed characterizations indicated that Fe and Si were successfully introduced into Fe/Si-BC, resulting in the formation of a new metallic silicate (Ca2.87Fe0.13(SiO3)2). The maximum Cd adsorption capacity of Fe/Si-BC (31.66 mg g-1) was 3.6 times and 2.5 times higher than that of Fe-BC (8.89 mg g-1) and Si-BC (11.03 mg g-1), respectively, deriving from an enhancement of Si dissolution induced by Fe introduction. The dissolved Si could capture and combine Cd to form CdSiO3 precipitation, which was strongly supported by the random forest regression and correlation between dissolved Si content and Cd adsorption capacity. This study advances the mechanistic insights into synergistic functions of Si and Fe in Cd removal.

Fe-rich biomass derived char for microwave-assisted methane reforming with carbon dioxide.

Microwave-assisted methane reforming with carbon dioxide was dealt with in this work, using a Fe-rich biomass-derived char by one-step preparation. The main factors on the reforming reaction and stability of this catalyst were evaluated, together with a series of characterization on the produced gas and the used char. The char obtained from biomass pyrolysis with Fe2O3 addition of 10% exhibited the best performance on dry reforming reaction. A target CH4 conversion of 95% over this char was realized at 800 °C. Moreover, H2/CO ratio achieved with this char was prone to approach the stoichiometric value. Compared to CO2 conversion, CH4 conversion was more promoted with the increase of CO2/CH4 ratio. The variation of CO2/CH4 ratio also leaded to a noticeable changes on H2/CO ratio. More importantly, the selected char presented a satisfied stability, evidenced by the total decrease of 4.8% for CH4 conversion and 3.1% for CO2 conversion in the test of 160 min. This was contributed to a depressed in-situ carbon consumption and a moderate deterioration of porous structure. Gaseous products obtained with the appropriate char in a long run had a syngas content of 88.79% and H2/CO ratio of 0.92 on average.