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Nickel Hyperaccumulator Biochar Sorbs Ni(II) from Water and Wastewater to Create an Enhanced Bio-ore
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Nickel Hyperaccumulator Biochar Sorbs Ni(II) from Water and Wastewater to Create an Enhanced Bio-ore

Rachel A. Smoak and Jerald L. Schnoor
ACS Environmental Au, Vol.3(1), pp.24-33
01/18/2023
DOI: 10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00028
PMCID: PMC9853938
PMID: 36691654
url
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenvironau.2c00028View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Nickel (Ni) hyperaccumulators make up the largest proportion of hyperaccumulator plant species; however, very few biochar studies with hyperaccumulator feedstock have examined them. This research addresses two major hypotheses: (1) Biochar synthesized from the Ni hyperaccumulator Odontarrhena chalcidica grown on natural, metal-rich soil is an effective Ni sorbent due to the plant’s ability to bioaccumulate soluble and exchangeable cations; and (2) such biochar can sorb high concentrations of Ni from complex solutions. We found that O. chalcidica grew on sandy, nutrient-poor soil from a Minnesota mining district but did not hyperaccumulate Ni. Biochar prepared from O. chalcidica biomass at a pyrolysis temperature of 900 °C sorbed up to 154 mg g–1 of Ni from solution, which is competitive with the highest-performing Ni sorbents in recent literature and the highest of any unmodified, plant-based biochar material reported in the literature. Precipitation, cation exchange, and adsorption mechanisms contributed to removal. Ni was effectively removed from acidic solutions with initial pH > 2 within 30 min. O. chalcidica biochar also removed Ni(II) from a simulated Ni electroplating rinsewater solution. Together, these results provide evidence for O. chalcidica biochar as an attractive material for simultaneously treating high-Ni wastewater and forming an enhanced Ni bio-ore.
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