Adsorption mechanism of dichlorvos onto coconut fibre biochar: the significant dependence of H-bonding and the pore-filling mechanism

Abstract The adsorption mechanism of dichlorvos onto coconut fibre biochar (CFB) was investigated by the batch adsorption technique. Coconut fibre waste material was synthesised at 600 °C for 4 h under oxygen-limited conditions. The biochar was modified by HCl acid to enhance the specific surface area and porosity. The characteristics of the biochar were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) specific surface area, and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR). The results showed that the BET specific surface area of biochar was 402.4 m2/g. Experimental data presented a good fit to Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order model. Langmuir isotherm illustrated that monolayer adsorption of dichlorvos occurred on the surface of CFB, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 90.9 mg/g. The diffusion model confirmed that the liquid film diffusion was the rate-limiting step, and the major diffusion mechanism of dichlorvos onto biochar. The BET result after dichlorvos adsorption demonstrated that pore-filling occurred and occupied 58.27%. The pore-filling and chemical interactions, performed important roles in the adsorption of dichlorvos onto CFB. Chemical adsorption is comprised of two interactions, which are hydrophobic and H-bonding, but the prime is H-bonding. CFB is a very potential material for the removal of dichlorvos and environmental pollutants.