Frontiers in Environmental Science (May 2022)

Characterization of Montmorillonite–Biochar Composite and Its Application in the Removal of Atrazine in Aqueous Solution and Soil

  • Pingping Wang,
  • Marianne Stenrød,
  • Liang Wang,
  • Shankui Yuan,
  • Liangang Mao,
  • Lizhen Zhu,
  • Lan Zhang,
  • Yanning Zhang,
  • Hongyun Jiang,
  • Yongquan Zheng,
  • Xingang Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.888252
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

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Atrazine is a widely used triazine herbicide, which poses a serious threat to human health and aquatic ecosystem. A montmorillonite–biochar composite (MMT/BC) was prepared for atrazine remediation. Biochar samples were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). Structural and morphological analysis of raw biochar (BC) and MMT/BC showed that MMT particles have been successfully coated on the surface of biochar. Sorption experiments in aqueous solution indicated that the MMT/BC has higher removal capacity of atrazine compared to BC (about 3.2 times). The sorption of atrazine on the MMT/BC was primarily controlled by both physisorption and chemisorption mechanisms. The amendment of MMT/BC increased the sorption capacity of soils and delayed the degradation of atrazine. Findings from this work indicate that the MMT/BC composite can effectively improve the sorption capacity of atrazine in aquatic environment and farmland soil and reduce the environmental risk.

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