This study investigated the effects of metals (Fe3+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+) and phenolic compounds (PCs: hydroquinone, catechol, and phenol) loaded on biomass on the formation of persistent free radicals (PFRs) in biochar. It was found that metal and phenolic compound treatments not only increased the concentrations of PFRs in biochar but also changed the types of PFRs formed, which indicated that manipulating the amount of metals and PCs in biomass may be an efficient method to regulate PFRs in biochar. These results provided direct evidence to elucidate the mechanism of PFR formation in biochar. Furthermore, the catalytic ability of biochar toward persulfate activation for the degradation of contaminants was evaluated. The results indicated that biochar activates persulfate to produce sulfate radicals (SO4•–) and degraded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) efficiently. It was found that both the concentration and type of PFRs were the dominant factors controlling the activation of persulfate by biochar and...

Manipulation of persistent free radicals in biochar to activate persulfate for contaminant degradation.

Eutrophication of water bodies is a serious and widespread environmental problem. Achieving low levels of phosphate concentration to prevent eutrophication is one of the important goals of the wastewater engineering and surface water management. Meeting the increasingly stringent standards is feasible in using a phosphate-selective sorption system. This critical review discusses the most fundamental aspects of selective phosphate removal processes and highlights gains from the latest developments of phosphate-selective sorbents. Selective sorption of phosphate over other competing anions can be achieved based on their differences in acid-base properties, geometric shapes, and metal complexing abilities. Correspondingly, interaction mechanisms between the phosphate and sorbent are categorized as hydrogen bonding, shape complementarity, and inner-sphere complexation, and their representative sorbents are organic-functionalized materials, molecularly imprinted polymers, and metal-based materials, respectively. Dominating factors affecting the phosphate sorption performance of these sorbents are critically examined, along with a discussion of some overlooked facts regarding the development of high-performance sorbents for selective phosphate removal from water and wastewater.

Selective Phosphate Removal from Water and Wastewater using Sorption: Process Fundamentals and Removal Mechanisms.

Removal of lead, copper, cadmium, zinc, and nickel from aqueous solutions by alkali-modified biochar: Batch and column tests

Applications of biochar in redox-mediated reactions.

Adsorption of phosphate from aqueous solution using iron-zirconium modified activated carbon nanofiber: Performance and mechanism.

Phosphorus removal from wastewater is important for eutrophication control of water bodies. Metal oxides and metal hydroxides have always been developed and investigated for phosphorus removal, bec...

Phosphate adsorption on metal oxides and metal hydroxides: A comparative review

Improving abiotic reducing ability of hydrothermal biochar by low temperature oxidation under air

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:adb5038/UQadb5038_OA.pdf

High and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli via synergy between the antibiotic penicillin G and its carrier ZnAl layered double hydroxide

A novel adsorbent of expanded graphite (EG) loaded with lanthanum oxide (EG-LaO) was prepared for phosphate removal from water and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The effects of impregnation time, La3+ concentration, activation time, and activation temperature on the phosphate removal performance of the adsorbent were studied for optimization of preparation conditions. Isothermal adsorption studies suggested that the Langmuir model fits the experimental data well. Adsorption kinetics investigation showed that the pseudo-second-order model fits the experimental data quite well, indicating that the adsorption process is mainly a process of chemical adsorption, and chloride ions compete to react with the active sites of the adsorbent but do not prevent phosphate from adsorbing onto EG-LaO. The adsorption mechanism studies were performed by a pH dependence study of the adsorption amount. The results demonstrated that the probable mechani...

Expanded graphite loaded with lanthanum oxide used as a novel adsorbent for phosphate removal from water: performance and mechanism study.

Facile fabrication of ZnO decorated ZnFe-layered double hydroxides @ biochar nanocomposites for synergistic photodegradation of tetracycline under visible light

Mengxue Li

Papers

Phosphate adsorption on metal oxides and metal hydroxides: A comparative review

Improving abiotic reducing ability of hydrothermal biochar by low temperature oxidation under air

High and long-term antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli via synergy between the antibiotic penicillin G and its carrier ZnAl layered double hydroxide

Expanded graphite loaded with lanthanum oxide used as a novel adsorbent for phosphate removal from water: performance and mechanism study.

Facile fabrication of ZnO decorated ZnFe-layered double hydroxides @ biochar nanocomposites for synergistic photodegradation of tetracycline under visible light