A novel, recyclable magnetic biochar modified by chitosan–EDTA for the effective removal of Pb(ii) from aqueous solution

We report here the preparation process of a recyclable magnetic biochar functionalized with chitosan and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (E-CMBC). This prepared biochar was then evaluated regarding its adsorption performance for Pb(II) from an aqueous solution along with the potential adsorption mechanisms behind this process. XRD and SEM analyses showed that the magnetite particles were successfully embedded into biochar and the subsequent surface coating of chitosan and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid modification were also successful. The effects of the adsorbent dosage, ionic strength, initial solution pH, and contact time, on adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, adsorption thermodynamics and regeneration performance were investigated. The removal of Pb(II) was dramatically improved to 156.68 mg g−1 compared with that by unmodified pristine biochar (10.90 mg g−1) at pH 3.0. In the range of pH 2.0–5.0, the adsorption performance of Pb(II) by E-CMBC remained above 152.50 mg g−1, which suggested that the adsorption capacity of the novel sorbent was not impacted by the competing adsorption of hydrogen cations under acidic conditions. The adsorption process could be well described by the Avrami fractional-order and Langmuir models. Thermodynamic analysis proved that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. The magnetic strength of E-CMBC was measured as 3.1 emu g−1, suggesting that the consumed E-CMBC could be separated from water by an external magnet. A regeneration study showed that after three cycles of adsorption–desorption, 78.60% of the sorbent was recovered and 97.26% of the adsorption capacity was retained. The adsorption mechanism investigation indicated that Pb(II) adsorption was mainly due to the presence of functional amides and carboxyl groups of E-CMBC forming strong chemical complexation. In conclusion, E-CMBC is a novel, recyclable, and highly efficient adsorbent for removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution.