Co-transport of ball-milled biochar and Cd2+ in saturated porous media

The combination of ball milling technology and biochar materials provides new prospects for environmentally friendly and sustainable environmental pollution control technologies, but comes with opportunities and risks. In this study, column experiments were used to evaluate the environmental behavior of ball-milled biochar (BMBC). The results of the column experiments showed that BMBC transport increased with a high flow velocity, large medium size, high pH, and low ionic strength. Owing to the strong adsorption of Cd2+ by BMBC, the presence of BMBC in the medium led to a decrease in effluent Cd2+. The presence of Cd2+ in the solution slightly inhibited the transport of BMBC. The transport of Cd2+ was facilitated by BMBC due to the high affinity. Therefore, attention should be paid to favorable conditions for BMBC transport. This study provides a perspective to assess the behavior of BMBC in the environment and whether its interaction with Cd2+ will introduce new environmental hazards.

Automated summary

The study found that ball-milled biochar has strong transport capacity under conditions of high flow velocity, large medium size, high pH, and low ionic strength, and exhibits strong adsorption to Cd2+. The presence of Cd2+ slightly inhibits BMBC transport, but BMBC also facilitates the transport of Cd2+ due to its high affinity.