The adsorption of chromium (III) ions from water solutions on biocarbons obtained from plant waste

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of biocarbon sorbent surfaces on CrIII removal looking at elemental structure. Biocarbon was obtained from corn waste vs flax straw by pyrolysis carried out at 500 degrees C in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide. These biocarbons were used to remove chromium(III) from model water solutions. The removal of chromium (III) from water solutions using biocarbon obtained from corn waste is 97% (in 210 min), while using biocarbon obtained from flax straw is 32% (in 210 min). Differences in sorption efficiency in the case of biocarbon obtained from corn waste result from the presence of oxygen-organic functional groups. The obtained results showed that, despite surface area, biocarbon obtained from corn waste show better sorption results than biocarbon obtained from flax straw. In this case, the development of biocarbon surface is not a key parameter for determining the biocarbon sorption capacity, but the presence of functional groups on the surface of biocarbon capable of binding chromium. Based on the obtained research results, a mechanism with chelate (complexes) proposed with chromium (III) on the biocarbon surface. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

The study compared the impact of biocarbon sorbent surfaces from corn waste and flax straw on CrIII removal, finding that biocarbon from corn waste showed significantly better sorption results than biocarbon from flax straw, attributed to the presence of oxygen-organic functional groups that can bind chromium effectively.