Efficient removal of mercury and chromium from wastewater via biochar fabricated with steel slag: Performance and mechanisms

Biochar derived from biomass is regarded as a promising adsorbent for wastewater treatment, but the high cost of modification is still a challenge for its large-scale practical applications. In this study, we employed steel slag as a low-cost fabricant and synthesized hydrothermally carbonized steel slag (HCSS), as a stable environmentally functional material for heavy metal removal. Typically, positively and negatively charged heavy metal contaminants of Hg2+ and Cr2O7 (2-) were employed to testify the performance of HCSS as an adsorbent, and good capacities [(283.24 mg/g for Hg (II) and 323.16 mg/g for Cr (VI)] were found. The feasibility of HCSS on real wastewater purification was also evaluated, as the removal efficiency was 94.11% and 88.65% for Hg (II) and Cr (VI), respectively. Mechanism studies revealed that the modification of steel slag on bio-adsorbents offered copious active sites for pollutants. As expected, oxygen-containing functional groups in HCSS acted as the main contributor to adsorption capacity. Moreover, some reactive iron species (i.e., Fe2+) played an essential role in chemical reduction of Cr (VI). The adsorptive reactions were pH-dependent, owing to other more mechanisms, such as coprecipitation, ion-exchange, and electrostatic attraction. This promising recycling approach of biomass waste and the design of agro-industrial byproducts can be highly suggestive of the issues of resource recovery in the application of solid waste-derived environmentally functional materials for heavy metal remediation.

Automated summary

In this study, hydrothermally carbonized steel slag (HCSS) was synthesized using low-cost steel slag as a fabricant, and it showed good adsorption capacity for heavy metal removal in wastewater treatment. The mechanism studies revealed that the modification of steel slag on bio-adsorbents and the oxygen-containing functional groups in HCSS contributed to the adsorption capacity. This study suggests a promising approach for resource recovery and heavy metal remediation using solid waste-derived environmentally functional materials.