Enhanced removal of hexavalent chromium by engineered biochar composite fabricated from phosphogypsum and distillers grains

Abstract Two kinds of industrial wastes (distillers grains and phosphogypsum) were used as raw materials to produce a new biochar composite for Cr(VI) removal in water. The influencing factors including pyrolysis temperature, dosage, initial solution pH as well as contacting time were explored. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics of two biochars were conducted. The results show that the adsorption of Cr(VI) by biochar is related to pH. The ideal pH was 3.0 and the adsorbed Cr(VI) decreases as the pH increases. The Cr(VI) adsorption process conformed to the pseudo-second-order equation. Phosphogypsum modified (PM)-biochar is well described by the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacities of distillers grains (DG)-biochar and PM-biochar on Cr(VI) were 63.1 and 157.9 mg g−1, respectively. The thermodynamic analysis indicates that the Cr(VI) adsorption occurs spontaneously which is an endothermic process. This study provided an alternative way for Cr(VI) removal from water.