Evaluation of slow-pyrolysis process effect on adsorption characteristics of cow bone for Ni ion removal from Ni-contaminated aqueous solutions

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Environment, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran.

2 Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

The optimization of nickel ion (Ni2+) removal in aqueous solutions with various factors (initial Ni concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time), as affected by raw cow bone (RBO) and its biochar (bone char: BC; produced by pyrolysis processes at 500 °C and a residence time of 4 hours) as adsorbents was investigated by a three-level Box–Behnken model (BBM) under response surface methodology (RSM). A total of 29 experimental runs were set for each adsorbent, and the experimental data were fitted to the empirical model. To understand the Ni2+ adsorption processes better, the properties of RBO and BC were characterized using Fe-SEM, FT-IR, BET, XRD, and CHNS elemental analysis techniques. The BC characteristics showed that pyrolysis increased the specific surface area (by 100 times) and phosphate functional groups, but decreased the carbonate functional groups, and yielded a more irregular and rougher morphological surface compared to RBO. Based on BC's superior ion exchange mechanisms and physical electrostatic adsorption compared to RBO, the removal efficiency of Ni2+ by BC was higher in aqueous solutions. The numerical optimization of BBM revealed that the optimum removal by BC (82.56%) was obtained at an initial Ni2+ concentration of 30.79 mg L−1, pH of 6.99, adsorbent dose of 4.87 g L−1, and contact time of 57.82 min, with the desirability of "1". BC can be effectively used for Ni removal from Ni-contaminated aqueous solutions; still, the application of modification methods (e.g., physical and chemical activation) may be necessary to help remove more Ni2+ by BC.

Keywords


Alkurdi, S. S., Al-Juboori, R. A., Bundschuh, J. and Hamawand, I. (2019). Bone char as a green sorbent for removing health threatening fluoride from drinking water. Environ. Int., 127; 704-719.
Alkurdi, S. S., Al-Juboori, R. A., Bundschuh, J., Bowtell, L. and McKnight, S. (2020). Effect of pyrolysis conditions on bone char characterization and its ability for arsenic and fluoride removal. Environ. Pollut., 262; 114221.
Božić, D., Gorgievski, M., Stanković, V., Štrbac, N., Šerbula, S. and Petrović, N. (2013). Adsorption of heavy metal ions by beech sawdust–Kinetics, mechanism and equilibrium of the process. Ecol. Eng., 58; 202-206.
Corami, A., Mignardi, S. and Ferrini, V. (2008). Cadmium removal from single-and multi-metal (Cd+ Pb+ Zn+ Cu) solutions by sorption on hydroxyapatite. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 317(2); 402-408.
Mesquita, P. D. L., Cruz, M. A. P., Souza, C. R., Santos, N. T. G., Nucci, E. R. and Rocha, S. D. F. (2017). Removal of refractory organics from saline concentrate produced by electrodialysis in petroleum industry using bone char. Adsorption, 23(7); 983-997.
Coltre, D. S. D. C., Cionek, C. A., Meneguin, J. G., Maeda, C. H., Braga, M. U. C., de Araújo, A. C. and Arroyo, P. A. (2020). Study of dye desorption mechanism of bone char utilizing different regenerating agents. SN Appl. Sci., 2(12); 1-14.
Figueiredo, M. J. D. F. M. D., Fernando, A., Martins, G., Freitas, J., Judas, F. and Figueiredo, H. (2010). Effect of the calcination temperature on the composition and microstructure of hydroxyapatite derived from human and animal bone. Ceram. Int., 36(8); 2383-2393.
Garg, U. K., Kaur, M. P., Garg, V. K. and Sud, D. (2008). Removal of nickel (II) from aqueous solution by adsorption on agricultural waste biomass using a response surface methodological approach. Bioresour. Technol., 99(5); 1325-1331.
Genchi, G., Sinicropi, M. S., Lauria, G., Carocci, A. and Catalano, A. (2020). The effects of cadmium toxicity. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public, 17(11); 3782.
Ghanizadeh, G. and Asgari, G. (2011). Adsorption kinetics and isotherm of methylene blue and its removal from aqueous solution using bone charcoal. React. Kinet. Mech. Catal., 102(1); 127-142.
Ghomri, F., Lahsini, A., Laajeb, A. and Addaou, A. (2013). The removal of heavy metal ions (copper, zinc, nickel and cobalt) by natural bentonite. Larhyss J., 12; 37-54.
Hassan, S. S., Awwad, N. S. and Aboterika, A. H. (2008). Removal of mercury (II) from wastewater using camel bone charcoal. J. Hazard. Mater., 154(1-3); 992-997.
Hosseini, S. S. S., Khosravi, A., Tavakoli, H., Esmhosseini, M. and Khezri, S. (2016). Natural zeolite for nickel ions removal from aqueous solutions: Optimization and modeling using response surface methodology based on central composite design. Desalin. Water Treat., 57(36); 16898-16906.
Ida, S. and Eva, T. (2021). Removal of heavy metals during primary treatment of municipal wastewater and possibilities of enhanced removal: A review. Water, 13(8); 1121.
Jia, P., Tan, H., Liu, K. and Gao, W. (2018). Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic property of novel ZnO/bone char composite. Mater. Res. Bull., 102; 45-50.
Maeda, C. H., Araki, C. A., Moretti, A. L., de Barros, M. A. S. D. and Arroyo, P. A. (2019). Adsorption and desorption cycles of reactive blue BF-5G dye in a bone char fixed-bed column. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 26(28); 28500-28509.
Mendoza-Castillo, D. I., Bonilla-Petriciolet, A. and Jáuregui-Rincón, J. (2015). On the importance of surface chemistry and composition of bone char for the sorption of heavy metals from aqueous solution. Desalin. Water Treat., 54(6); 1651-1662.
Pan, X., Wang, J. and Zhang, D. (2009). Sorption of cobalt to bone char: Kinetics, competitive sorption and mechanism. Desalin., 249(2); 609-614.
Saffari, M. (2018). Response surface methodological approach for optimizing the removal of cadmium from aqueous solutions using pistachio residues biochar supported/non-supported by nanoscalezero-valent iron. Main Group Met. Chem., 41(5-6); 167-181.
Shahid, M. K., Kim, J. Y. and Choi, Y. G. (2019). Synthesis of bone char from cattle bones and its application for fluoride removal from the contaminated water. Groundw. Sustain. Dev., 8; 324-331.
Shahid, M. K., Kim, J. Y., Shin, G. and Choi, Y. (2020). Effect of pyrolysis conditions on characteristics and fluoride adsorptive performance of bone char derived from bone residue. J. Water Process. Eng., 37; 101499.
Wang, M., Liu, Y., Yao, Y., Han, L. and Liu, X. (2020). Comparative evaluation of bone chars derived from bovine parts: Physicochemical properties and copper sorption behavior. Sci. Total Environ., 700; 134470.
Xu, H., Yang, L., Wang, P., Liu, Y. and Peng, M. (2008). Kinetic research on the sorption of aqueous lead by synthetic carbonate hydroxyapatite. J. Environ. Manage., 86(1); 319-328.
Xu, L., Zhang, J., Ding, J., Liu, T., Shi, G., Li, X., ... and Guo, R. (2020). Pore structure and fractal characteristics of different shale lithofacies in the dalong formation in the western area of the lower yangtze platform. Minerals, 10(1); 72.
Younesi, M., Javadpour, S. and Bahrololoom, M. E. (2011). Effect of heat treatment temperature on chemical compositions of extracted hydroxyapatite from bovine bone ash. J. Mater. Eng. Perform, 20(8); 1484-1490.