Non-thermal plasma enhances performances of biochar in wastewater treatment and energy storage applications

doi:10.1007/s11705-021-2070-x

Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (4) : 475-483 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-021-2070-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Non-thermal plasma enhances performances of biochar in wastewater treatment and energy storage applications

Rusen Zhou^1,^2,³, Xiaoxiang Wang^2,⁴, Renwu Zhou³, Janith Weerasinghe², Tianqi Zhang³, Yanbin Xin¹(

), Hao Wang⁴, Patrick Cullen³, Hongxia Wang², Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov²

¹. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China
². School of Chemistry and Physics and QUT Centre for Materials Science, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4000, Australia
³. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
⁴. Centre for Future Materials, University of Southern Queensland, QLD 4350, Australia

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Abstract

Surface functionalization or modification to introduce more oxygen-containing functional groups to biochar is an effective strategy for tuning the physicochemical properties and promoting follow-up applications. In this study, non-thermal plasma was applied for biochar surface carving before being used in contaminant removal and energy storage applications. The results showed that even a low dose of plasma exposure could introduce a high number density of oxygen-functional groups and enhance the hydrophilicity and metal affinity of the pristine biochar. The plasma-treated biochar enabled a faster metal-adsorption rate and a 40% higher maximum adsorption capacity of heavy metal ion Pb²⁺. Moreover, to add more functionality to biochar surface, biochar with and without plasma pre-treatment was activated by KOH at a temperature of 800 °C. Using the same amount of KOH, the plasma treatment resulted in an activated carbon product with the larger BET surface area and pore volume. The performance of the treated activated carbon as a supercapacitor electrode was also substantially improved by>30%. This study may provide guidelines for enhancing the surface functionality and application performances of biochar using non-thermal-based techniques.

Keywords non-thermal plasma surface functionalization biochar modification wastewater treatment supercapacitor

Corresponding Author(s): Yanbin Xin

Online First Date: 13 July 2021 Issue Date: 21 March 2022

Cite this article:

Rusen Zhou,Xiaoxiang Wang,Renwu Zhou, et al. Non-thermal plasma enhances performances of biochar in wastewater treatment and energy storage applications[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(4): 475-483.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-021-2070-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2022/V16/I4/475

Fig.1 The schematic diagram on the experimental procedures.

Tab.1 Properties of the pristine and plasma-treated BSSBC concluded from different characterizations

Fig.2 (a) FTIR spectra of the pristine and plasma-treated BSSBC and XPS spectra of C1s of (b) BSSBC, (c) BSSBC-P-5 and (d) BSSBC-P-10.

Tab.2 Chemical bonds of the pristine and plasma-treated BSSBC from XPS C1s

Fig.3 (a) Raman, (b) TGA and (c) N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms of the pristine and plasma-treated BSSBC.

Fig.4 (a) Pb²⁺ removal kinetics and (b) adsorption isotherms using the pristine or plasma-treated BSSBC as the adsorbent.

Fig.5 (a) N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms and (b) pore size distribution curves of the BSSBC-AC and BSSBC-P-10-AC.

Tab.3 Surface areas and pore volumes BCCBC-AC and BSSBC-P-10-AC

Fig.6 Electrochemical performances of the BSSBC-AC and BSSBC-P-10-AC: (a) CV diagram at the scan rate of 5 mV·s⁻¹ and (b) GCD profiles at a current density of 1.5 A·g⁻¹.

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