AUTHOR=Xu Deliang , Gao Yaxuan , Lin Zixiang , Gao Wenran , Zhang Hong , Karnowo Karnowo , Hu Xun , Sun Hongqi , Syed-Hassan Syed Shatir A. , Zhang Shu 

TITLE=Application of Biochar Derived From Pyrolysis of Waste Fiberboard on Tetracycline Adsorption in Aqueous Solution

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2019.00943

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2019.00943

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>In this study, biochars derived from waste fiberboard biomass were applied in tetracycline (TC) removal in aqueous solution. Biochar samples were prepared by slow pyrolysis at 300, 500, and 800°C, and were characterized by ultimate analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), etc. The effects of ionic strength (0–1.0 mol/L of NaCl), initial TC concentration (2.5–60 ppm), biochar dosage (1.5–2.5 g/L), and initial pH (2–10) were systemically determined. The results present that biochar prepared at 800°C (BC800) generally possesses the highest aromatization degree and surface area with abundant pyridinic N (N-6) and accordingly shows a better removal efficiency (68.6%) than the other two biochar samples. Adsorption isotherm data were better fitted by the Freundlich model (<italic>R</italic><sup>2</sup> is 0.94) than the Langmuir model (<italic>R</italic><sup>2</sup> is 0.85). Thermodynamic study showed that the adsorption process is endothermic and mainly physical in nature with the values of Δ<italic>H</italic><sup>0</sup> being 48.0 kJ/mol, Δ<italic>S</italic><sup>0</sup> being 157.1 J/mol/K, and Δ<italic>G</italic><sup>0</sup> varying from 1.02 to −2.14 kJ/mol. The graphite-like structure in biochar enables the π-π interactions with a ring structure in the TC molecule, which, together with the N-6 acting as electron donor, is the main driving force of the adsorption process.</p>