Lead and cadmium removal from wastewater using eco-friendly biochar adsorbent derived from rice husk, wheat straw, and corncob

Rabia Amen; Muhammad Yaseen; Ahmad Mukhtar; Jiří Jaromír Klemeš; Sidra Saqib; Sami Ullah; Abdullah G. Al-Sehemi; Sikander Rafiq; Muhammad Babar; Chuah Lai Fatt; Muhammad Ibrahim; Saira Asif; Khurram Shehzad Qureshi; Majid Majeed Akbar; Awais Bokhari

Cleaner Engineering and Technology (Dec 2020)

Lead and cadmium removal from wastewater using eco-friendly biochar adsorbent derived from rice husk, wheat straw, and corncob

Rabia Amen,
Muhammad Yaseen,
Ahmad Mukhtar,
Jiří Jaromír Klemeš,
Sidra Saqib,
Sami Ullah,
Abdullah G. Al-Sehemi,
Sikander Rafiq,
Muhammad Babar,
Chuah Lai Fatt,
Muhammad Ibrahim,
Saira Asif,
Khurram Shehzad Qureshi,
Majid Majeed Akbar,
Awais Bokhari

Affiliations

Rabia Amen: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Yaseen: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38040, Pakistan
Ahmad Mukhtar: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Seri Iskandar, Perak, 32610, Malaysia
Jiří Jaromír Klemeš: Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory – SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology – VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 61669, Brno, Czech Republic
Sidra Saqib: Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Lahore Campus, Punjab, 54000, Pakistan
Sami Ullah: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, P. O. Box, 9004, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah G. Al-Sehemi: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, P. O. Box, 9004, Saudi Arabia
Sikander Rafiq: Department of Chemical, Polymer and Composite Materials Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, New Campus, Pakistan
Muhammad Babar: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Seri Iskandar, Perak, 32610, Malaysia
Chuah Lai Fatt: Malaysia Marine Department Northern Region, 11700, Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia
Muhammad Ibrahim: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University Faisalabad, 38000, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Saira Asif: Faculty of Sciences, Department of Botany, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Khurram Shehzad Qureshi: Department of Chemical Engineering, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan
Majid Majeed Akbar: Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Awais Bokhari: Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Lahore Campus, Punjab, 54000, Pakistan; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1
p. 100006

Abstract

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Cleaner and sustainable water production lead to the development of environmentally friendly adsorbent materials for energy-efficient, cost-effective, and cleaner water production. In this study, the biochar derived from the rice husk, wheat straw, and corncob has been used for the adsorptive removal of heavy metals, including the lead (Pb+2) and cadmium (Cd+2). The synthesised biochar was characterised by a different structural and analytical approach. The characterisation of biochar revealed the existence of the combined redox, i.e. reductive and oxidative surface functional groups along with some inert functional groups which play a significant role in donating or accepting an electron to degrade the pollutants in the wastewater. The biochar synthesised in this study was found to be amorphous, and some negligible disorders and defects have been observed in the structure of biochar. The biochar has been highly stable under harsh thermal conditions by sustaining significant weight over a temperature of 700 °C and also be hygroscopic. The biochar rice husk, wheat straw, and corncob demonstrated the lead (Pb+2) adsorption capacity of 96.41%, 95.38%, and 96.92%, while for cadmium (Cd+2), the uptake capacity was found to be 94.73%, 93.68%, and 95.78%. The reported biochar is a cleaner, environmentally friendly, economical, and sustainable alternative to conventional adsorbent materials.

Published in Cleaner Engineering and Technology

ISSN: 2666-7908 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Mechanical engineering and machinery: Renewable energy sources; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Environmental engineering
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/cleaner-engineering-and-technology/

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