Adsorptive behavior of Fe/Zn-modified nanobiochar for arsenic removal from naturally contaminated groundwater

Global groundwater is frequently discovered to have high arsenic (As) concentrations, critically endangered and potentially toxic to aquatic organisms and humans. This work investigates As(V) adsorption using raw nanobiochar (RnBC) and activated magnetic nanobiochar (AMnBC), which are synthesized via pre-treating rice straw biomass with ZnCl2 and FeCl3 and pyrolyzing at 500 °C, followed by ball milling. The highest adsorption capacity for AMnBC and RnBC was 130 μg/g and 38.67 μg/g, respectively, at alkaline water chemistry to mimic natural groundwater conditions. Different functional groups contributed by modifications are evident with As(V) adsorption using RnBC and AMnBC. Multilayer chemisorption may explain the adsorption of As(V) on biochar surfaces, as Freundulich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model are suggested. The synthesis cost for AMnBC and RnBC was $0.0147/g and $0.0099/g, respectively, which helped to determine the most effective and efficient method for As(V) adsorption. In this study, natural As-contaminated groundwater collected from Patna, Bihar (India), was treated for As(V) removal using AMnBC in natural environments. Thus, this study recommends that cost-effective modified biochar can effectively be used for As(V) elimination from naturally contaminated groundwater as well as surface water.