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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

ISSN 2095-2201

ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

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Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.    2014, Vol. 8 Issue (6) : 825-834    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0682-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Recovery of NH4+ by corn cob produced biochars and its potential application as soil conditioner
Yang ZHANG,Zifu LI(),Ibrahim B MAHMOOD
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
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Abstract

NH4+ ion, a main pollutant in aquatic systems, not only causes eutrophication in rivers and lakes but also contributes to fish toxicity. In this study, an eco-friendly biosorbent was prepared from the pyrolysis of corn cob, a low-cost agricultural residue. The biochars produced by pyrolysis of corn cob at 400°C and 600°C were characterized and investigated as adsorbents for NH4+-N from an aqueous solution. The biochars were characterized through elemental analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller–N2 surface area analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate the NH4+ adsorption process of the corn cob biochars. The Freundlich isotherm model fitted the adsorption process better than the Langmuir and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models. Moreover, the adsorption process was well described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Results of thermodynamic analysis suggested that adsorption was a nonspontaneous exothermic process. Biochars produced at 400°C had higher adsorption capacity than those produced at 600°C because of the presence of polar functional groups with higher acidity. The exhausted biochar can be potentially used as soil conditioner, which can provide 6.37 kg NH4+-N?t-1 (N fertilizer per ton of biochar).
Keywords corn cob      biochar      isotherm model      kinetic model      NH4+ adsorption')" href="#">NH4+ adsorption     
Corresponding Author(s): Zifu LI   
Online First Date: 04 May 2014    Issue Date: 17 November 2014
 Cite this article:   
Yang ZHANG,Zifu LI,Ibrahim B MAHMOOD. Recovery of NH4+ by corn cob produced biochars and its potential application as soil conditioner[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2014, 8(6): 825-834.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-014-0682-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2014/V8/I6/825
properties CC-400 CC-600
pH 9.3 10.7
ash/% 3.56 3.15
C/% 79.65 84.35
H/% 3.96 2.41
N/% 0.67 0.76
O/% 12.16 9.33
(O+ N)/C 0.13 0.09
O/C 0.115 0.083
acidity /(mmol·g-1) 0.89 0.23
SA/(m2·g-1) 180.1 212.9
Tab.1  Physicochemical characteristic of two different biochars
Fig.1  (a) SEM images of CC-400 (A, B) and CC-600 (C, D); (b) FTIR spectra of CC-400 and CC-600
Fig.2  Application of nonlinear pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, and intraparticle diffusion model for N H 4 + ion adsorption by CC-400 and CC-600: (a) CC-400; (b) CC-600; (c) intraparticle diffusion model for CC-400; (d) intraparticle diffusion model for CC-600
kinetic model parameter value
CC-400 CC-600
pseudo-first-order k1 (min-1) 0.116 0.435
qe (mg·g-1) 1.013 0.677
R2 0.902 0.986
SD 0.052 0.011
pseudo-second-order k2 (g·mg-1·min-1) 0.164 1.675
qe (mg·g-1) 1.091 0.690
R2 0.961 0.993
SD 0.004 0.001
Tab.2  Kinetic parameters for ammonium ion adsorption on biochars
Fig.3  Nolinear Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms of N H 4 + sorption on the biochars and Linear D-R isotherm: (a) Freundlich model of CC-400; (b) Freundlich model of CC-600; (c) Langmuir model of CC-400; (d) Langmuir model of CC-600; (e) D–Rmodel of CC-400; (f) D–R model of CC-600
parameters CC-400 CC-600
20°C 25°C 30°C 20°C 25°C 30°C
Langmuir model qmax (mg·g-1) 16.9 15.3 15.3 10.9 12.8 11.5
KL(L·mg-1) 0.0009 0.0009 0.0008 0.0012 0.0008 0.0003
R2 0.973 0.974 0.981 0.953 0.982 0.982
χ2 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.25 0.23 0.27
Freundlich model kF() 0.052 0.051 0.037 0.046 0.030 0.013
n 0.74 0.73 0.77 0.71 0.77 0.89
R2 0.996 0.996 0.996 0.996 0.996 0.996
χ2 0.12 0.12 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.13
D-R model qmax (mg·g-1) 14.2 13.3 13.4 11.0 10.6 12.4
E (kJ·mol-1) 3.76 3.86 3.60 3.70 3.80 3.10
R2 0.941 0.953 0.972 0.982 0.982 0.982
χ2 167 167 168 165 167 167
Tab.3  Constants and correlation coefficient of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich models for N H 4 + adsorption onto CC-400 and CC-600
adsorbents adsorption capacity /(mg·g-1) references
Posidonia oceanica ?bers 1.73 [24]
natural zeolite 4.04 [25]
hardwood biochar 5.3 [26]
microwave-treated zeolite 23.83 [27]
CC-400 6.37 this study
Tab.4  Comparison between various adsorbents used for ammonium nitrogen removal
location plants exp AP/(t·ha-1) N-fertilizer/(kg·ha-1) effect references
Australia Radish P 10 100 no effect [30]
Australia Radish P 50 100 + 95% [30]
Australia Radish P 100 100 + 266% [30]
Australia Radish P 50 100 + 320% [31]
Japan Rice F 8 50 + 30% [32]
China Maize F 40 300 + 12% [33]
Tab.5  List of the experimental results in some literatures that have applied biochar
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25 Liang Z, Ni J. Improving the ammonium ion uptake onto natural zeolite by using an integrated modification process. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 166(1): 52–60
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