Activated Biochar Is an Effective Technique for Arsenic Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water in Pakistan

Iftikhar Ahmad; Abdul Ghaffar; Ali Zakir; Zia Ul Haq Khan; Muhammad Farhan Saeed; Atta Rasool; Aftab Jamal; Adil Mihoub; Simone Marzeddu; Maria Rosaria Boni

doi:10.3390/su142114523

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Activated Biochar Is an Effective Technique for Arsenic Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water in Pakistan

Journal article

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Activated Biochar Is an Effective Technique for Arsenic Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water in Pakistan

Iftikhar Ahmad, Abdul Ghaffar, Ali Zakir, Zia Ul Haq Khan, Muhammad Farhan Saeed, Atta Rasool, Aftab Jamal, Adil Mihoub, Simone Marzeddu and Maria Rosaria Boni

Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.14(21), 14523

04/11/2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114523

Appears in Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

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Abstract

Environmental Sciences

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Environmental Studies

Green & Sustainable Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Science & Technology

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Arsenic

Biochar

Drinking water

Human welfare

Modification

Remediation

Arsenic (As), the silent poison, is a widespread environmental pollutant which finds its way into drinking water supplies from natural or man-made sources and affects over 200 million people worldwide, including in Pakistan. It has been demonstrated that As causes serious health complications as well as social and economic losses. A quick, cost-effective, and simple method for efficiently filtering As from drinking water is urgently needed. The present study evaluates the ability of chemical treatment solutions to activate the sorption capacity of biochar derived from cotton stalks. The surface characteristics of CSB (cotton stalk biochar), HN-CSB (treated with nitric acid: HNO3), and Na-CSB (treated with sodium hydroxide: NaOH) were investigated for their As sorption capacities and efficiency in removing As from contaminated drinking water. The chemical modification of biochar significantly increased the surface area and pore volume of CSB, with a maximum observed in HN-CSB (three times higher than CSB). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed several functional groups (OH-, -COOH, C=O, N-H) on CSB, though the chemical modification of biochar creates new functional groups on its surface. Results showed that the maximum sorption capacity of CSB was (q = 90 mu g g(-1)), of Na-CSB was (q = 124 mu g g(-1)) and of HN-CSB was (q = 140 mu g g(-1)) at an initial As concentration of 200 mu g L-1, an adsorbent dose of 1 g L-1, with 4 h of contact time, a pH of 6 and a temperature of 25 hC. However, As removal was found to be 45-88% for CSB, 62-94% for Na-CSB and 67-95% for HN-CSB across all As concentrations. An isotherm model showed that As sorption results were best fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model in the case of CSB (Q(max) = 103 mu g g(-1), R-2 = 0.993), Na-CSB (Q(max) = 151 mu g g(-1), R-2 = 0.991), and HN-CSB (Q(max) = 157 mu g g(-1), R-2 = 0.949). The development of the largest surface area, a porous structure, and new functional groups on the surface of HN-CSB proved to be an effective treatment for As removal from contaminated drinking water. Both HN-CSB and Na-CSB are clearly cost-effective adsorbents under laboratory conditions, but HN-CSB is cheaper and more efficient in As removal than Na-CSB, allowing it to be used as a powerful and promising adsorbent for the removal of pollutants like Arsenic from aqueous solution.

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Title: Activated Biochar Is an Effective Technique for Arsenic Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water in Pakistan
Creators: Iftikhar Ahmad - COMSATS University Islamabad
Abdul Ghaffar - COMSATS University Islamabad
Ali Zakir - COMSATS University Islamabad
Zia Ul Haq Khan - COMSATS University Islamabad
Muhammad Farhan Saeed - COMSATS University Islamabad
Atta Rasool - COMSATS University Islamabad
Aftab Jamal - The University of Agriculture (Peshawar, Pakistan)
Adil Mihoub - Ctr Sci & Tech Res Arid Reg, Biophys Environm Stn, Touggourt 30240, Algeria
Simone Marzeddu - Sapienza University of Rome
Maria Rosaria Boni - Sapienza University of Rome
Publication Details: Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.14(21), 14523
Publisher: Mdpi
Number of pages: 20
Grant note: 21-293/SRGP/RD/HEC/2014 / Higher Education Commission of Pakistan
Identifiers: 991013092671602368
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Activated Biochar Is an Effective Technique for Arsenic Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water in Pakistan

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