Hierarchically porous biochar templated by in situ formed ZnO for rapid Pb2+ and Cd2+ adsorption in wastewater: Experiment and molecular dynamics study

Predicting Cd(II) adsorption capacity of biochar materials using typical machine learning models for effective remediation of aquatic environments

The screening and design of "green" biochar materials with high adsorption capacity play a pivotal role in promoting the sustainable treatment of Cd(II)-containing wastewater. In this study, six typical machine learning (ML) models, namely Linear Regression, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting Decision Tree, CatBoost, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Backpropagation Neural Network, were employed to accurately predict the adsorption capacity of Cd(II) onto biochars. A large dataset with 1051 data points was generated using 21 input variables obtained from batch adsorption experiments, including preparation conditions for biochar (2 features), physical properties of biochar (4 features), chemical composition of biochar (9 features), and adsorption experiment conditions (6 features). The rigorous evaluation and comparison of the ML models revealed that the CatBoost model exhibited the highest test R2 value (0.971) and the lowest RMSE (20.54 mg/g), significantly outperforming all other models. The feature importance analysis using Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) indicated that biochar chemical compositions had the greatest impact on model predictions of adsorption capacity (42.2 %), followed by adsorption conditions (37.57 %), biochar physical characteristics (12.38 %), and preparation conditions (7.85 %). The optimal experimental conditions optimized by partial dependence plots (PDP) are as follows: as high Cd(II) concentration as possible, C(%) of 33 %, N(%) of 0.3 %, adsorption time of 600 min, pyrolysis time of 50 min, biochar dosage of less than 2 g/L, O(%) of 42 %, biochar pH value of 11.2, and DBE of 1.15. This study unveils novel insights into the adsorption of Cd(II) and provides a comprehensive reference for the sustainable engineering of biochars in Cd(II) wastewater treatment.

Selective Capacitive Removal of Pb2+ from Wastewater over Biochar Electrodes by Zinc Regulation

Biochar materials have shown great potential for broad catalytic application. However, using these materials in the capacitive deionization technology (CDI) system for heavy metal removal still faces a significant challenge due to their low specific capacity and removal capability. Here, a comprehensive regulation on the interfacial/bulk electrochemistry of biochar by Zn doping is reported, which suggests a high renewable capacity (20 mg g-1) and outstanding selective capacitive removal ability (SCR) of Pb2+ from leachate. The SCR efficiency of Pb2+ is as high as 99% compared to K+ (8%), Na+ (13%), and Cd2+ (37%). This work proves that the doped Zn on the biochar can combine with OH- generated by water splitting to form M─OH bonds, which is beneficial for improving the specific capacity. Significantly, the relationship between double-layer capacitance and pseudo-capacitance can also be optimized by regulating the content of Zn, leading to different removal abilities of heavy metals. Therefore, this work offers insights into charge-storage kinetics, which provide valuable guidelines for designing and optimizing the biochar electrode for broader environmental applications.

Hierarchically porous graphene-like biochar for efficient removal of aromatic pollutants and their structure-performance relationship: A combined experimental, MD and DFT study

Development of high-efficiency adsorbents and exploration of the structure-performance relationship holds exciting implications for removal of aromatic pollutants (APs) from water. Herein, hierarchically porous graphene-like biochars (HGBs) were successfully prepared by K₂CO₃ simultaneous graphitization and activation of Physalis pubescens husk. The HGBs possess high specific surface area (1406-2369.7 m²/g), hierarchically meso-/microporous structure and high graphitization degree. The optimized HGB-2-9 sample exhibits rapid adsorption equilibrium time (t_e) and high adsorption capacities (Q_e) for seven widely-used persistent APs with different molecular structures (e.g., phenol: t_e = 7 min, Q_e = 191.06 mg/g; methylparaben: t_e = 12 min Q_e = 482.15 mg/g). HGB-2-9 also shows a wide pH (3-10) suitability and good ionic strength (0.01-0.5 M NaCl) resistance properties. The effects of the physicochemical properties of HGBs and APs on the adsorption performance were deeply investigated by the adsorption experiments, molecular dynamics (MD) and density functional theory (DFT) simulation. The results demonstrate that the large specific surface area, high graphitization degree and hierarchically porous structure of HGB-2-9 can supply more active sites on accessible surface and facilitate the transport of APs. And the aromaticity and hydrophobicity of APs play the more crucial roles during the adsorption process. Besides, the HGB-2-9 presents good recyclability and high removal efficiency for APs in various real water, which further confirms its potential for practical applications.

NaHCO3 activated sludge-derived biochar by KMnO4 modification for Cd(II) removal from aqueous solutions

The surface flat pristine biochar provides limited adsorption sites for Cd(II) adsorption. To address this issue, a novel sludge-derived biochar (MNBC) was prepared by NaHCO₃ activation and KMnO₄ modification. The batch adsorption experiments illustrated that the maximum adsorption capacity of MNBC was twice that of pristine biochar and reached equilibrium more quickly. The pseudo-second order and Langmuir model were more suitable for analyzing the Cd(II) adsorption process on MNBC. Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^- and NO^-₃ had no effect on the Cd(II) removal. Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ inhibited the Cd(II) removal, while PO^3-₄ and humic acid (HA) promoted it. After 5 repeated experiments, the Cd(II) removal efficiency on MNBC was 90.24%. The Cd(II) removal efficiency of MNBC in different actual water bodies was over 98%. Furthermore, MNBC owned excellent Cd(II) adsorption performance in fixed bed experiments, and the effective treatment capacity was 450 BV. The co-precipitation, complexation, ion exchange and Cd(II)-π interaction were involved in Cd(II) removal mechanism. XPS analysis showed that NaHCO₃ activation and KMnO₄ modification enhanced the complexation ability of MNBC to Cd(II). The results suggested that MNBC can be used as an effective adsorbent for treating of Cd-contaminated wastewater.