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Production and use of biochar from buffalo‐weed ( Ambrosia trifida L.) for trichloroethylene removal from water
Author(s) -
Ahmad Mahtab,
Moon Deok Hyun,
Vithanage Meththika,
Koutsospyros Agamem,
Lee Sang Soo,
Yang Jae E,
Lee Sung Eun,
Jeon Choong,
Ok Yong Sik
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4157
Subject(s) - biochar , trichloroethylene , pyrolysis , adsorption , weed , biomass (ecology) , chemistry , environmental chemistry , groundwater , agronomy , biology , organic chemistry , engineering , geotechnical engineering
BACKGROUND Ambrosia trifida L. (buffalo‐weed) is a ubiquitous invasive plant species in Korea, causing severe allergy problems to humans and reduction in crop yields. Converting buffalo‐weed biomass to biochar and its use as an adsorbent for the depuration of trichloroethylene ( TCE ) contaminated water could help resolve two existing environmental issues simultaneously . RESULTS The plant biomass was converted to biochar at 300 °C ( BC300 ) and 700 °C ( BC700 ). The pyrolysis temperature strongly influenced the properties of resulting biochars. The higher temperature resulted in a higher degree of C‐enrichment. The loss of H‐ and O‐containing functional groups shifted the BC700 composition towards a less polar, more aromatic carbon structure evidenced by lower O/C (0.06) and H/C (0.15) values compared with those of BC300 (0.07 and 0.65, respectively). These properties of BC700 further highlighted its greater efficiency of TCE removal (88.47%) from water, compared with that of BC300 (69.07%). The TCE adsorption data was well described by the Hill isotherm model indicating the mechanism of adsorption to be cooperative interaction. Linear correlations between model parameters and biochar properties were also observed . CONCLUSIONS Buffalo‐weed can be converted to value‐added biochar that can be used as an effective adsorbent for the treatment of TCE contaminated groundwater. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry