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Biochar from agricultural by-products for the removal of lead and cadmium from drinking water

Abstract:

This study reports the adsorption capacity of lead Pb2+ and cadmium Cd2+ of biochar obtained from: peanut shell (BCM), “chonta” pulp (BCH) and corn cob (BZM) calcined at 500, 600 and 700◦ C, respectively. The optimal adsorbent dose, pH, maximum adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics were evaluated. The biochar with the highest Pb2+ and Cd2+ removal capacity is obtained from the peanut shell (BCM) calcined at 565◦ C in 45 min. The optimal experimental conditions were: 14 g L−1 (dose of sorbent) and pH between 5 and 7. The sorption experimental data were best fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model. High removal rates were obtained: 95.96% for Pb2+ and 99.05. for Cd2+. The BCH and BZM revealed lower efficiency of Pb2+ and Cd2+ removal than BCM biochar. The results suggest that biochar may be useful for the removal of heavy metals (Pb2+ and Cd2+ ) from drinking water.