Sorption of ionic and nonionic organic solutes onto giant Miscanthus-derived biochar from methanol-water mixtures

Abstract

The sorption of naphthalene (NAP) and 1-naphthoic acid (1-NAPA) onto giant Miscanthus-derived biochar was investigated in methanol volume fractions (f(c)) of 0-0.6 as a function of ionic composition (5 mM CaCl2 and 10 mM KCl) and liquid pH (2 and 7). The sorption onto biochar was nonlinear with 0.42 <= N <= 0.95; thus, a concentration-specific sorption constant (K-m) was compared. The K-m log linearly decreased with increasing f(c), except for 1-NAPA from a CaCl2 mixture at pH 7. Isotherm data was fitted with a cosolvency sorption model through which the slope (alpha sigma) of the inverse log linear K-m-f(c) plot and empirical constant (alpha) were obtained. NAP sorption was well described by the cosolvency model with the alpha value being 0.41-0.53, indicating a methanol-biochar interaction favoring more sorption than the cosolvency based prediction. In particular, the slope (alpha sigma) of 1-NAPA was lower than that of NAP, indicating less reduction of 1-NAPA sorption (i.e., lower alpha value) by methanol. In comparison with other sorbents, the a value was approximately intermediate between a humic substance and kaolinite clay. An analysis of FT-IR spectra suggested the transformation of O-containing functional groups by methanol, which will subsequently boost the pi-pi interaction between an organic solute and biochar. Moreover, Ca2+-induced sorption between anionic 1-NAPA and a negatively charged biochar surface was also fortified in the methanol mixture. The results revealed unexplored cosolvent effects on organic solute sorption onto biochar and identified the hydrophobic and hydrophilic sorption moieties of biochar as affected by the cosolvent. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.