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Green catalyst derived from zero-valent iron onto porous biochar for removal of Rhodamine B from aqueous solution in a Fenton-like process

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Abstract

Organic wastewater causes serious environmental pollution, and catalytic oxidation is promising technique for wastewater treatment. Developing green and effective catalysts is currently challenging. In this work, green synthesis of nano zero-valent iron loaded onto porous biochar derived from popcorn is conducted, and catalytic oxidation of Rhodamine B (RhB) is evaluated in the presence of H2O2. Effect of process factors is examined on catalytic performance for RhB removal. The mechanism of RhB removal is discussed by characterizations (Fourier transform infrared spectra and Raman) and UV–vis spectra. RhB removal is improved with high catalyst dosage, low initial RhB concentration, and high reaction temperature, while it is slightly influenced by carbonization temperature of biochar, H2O2 dosage and pH value. Under conditions of BC-250 1.0 g/L, H2O2 0.01 mol/L, pH 6.1, and temperature 30 °C, the removal rate of RhB is 92.27% at 50 min. Pseudo first-order kinetics is used to fitting experimental data, and the activation energy for RhB removal in BC-250/H2O2 system is 39 kJ/mol. RhB removal in BC-250/H2O2 system can be attributed to adsorption effect and catalytic oxidation with the dominant role of hydroxyl radical. This work gives insights into catalytic oxidation of organic wastewater using green catalyst.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Chongqing Wang, Xiuxiu Zhang & Yijun Cao

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Khalifa University, P.O. Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Pau Loke Show

  3. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500, Semenyih, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

    Pau Loke Show

  4. Department of Chemistry, Soongsil University, Seoul, 06978, South Korea

    Yasser Vasseghian

  5. School of Engineering, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon

    Yasser Vasseghian

  6. Department of Sustainable Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai, 602105, India

    Yasser Vasseghian

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  1. Chongqing Wang
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  2. Pau Loke Show
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  3. Xiuxiu Zhang
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Correspondence to Yijun Cao or Yasser Vasseghian.

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Wang, C., Show, P.L., Zhang, X. et al. Green catalyst derived from zero-valent iron onto porous biochar for removal of Rhodamine B from aqueous solution in a Fenton-like process. Carbon Lett. 33, 1947–1957 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42823-023-00530-2

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