A Facilely Synthesized Tourmaline-Biochar Composite For Enhanced Removal of Cr (VI) From Aqueous Solution

Abstract A tourmaline-biochar composite (TMBC) was facilely synthesized to effectively remove Cr (Ⅵ) from aqueous solution. The effects of different ratio (TM: BC) and pyrolysis temperature on TMBC adsorption performance were compared for optimal condition of TMBC preparation. The TMBC samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS). The kinetics and thermodynamics were analyzed to investigate the sorption mechanism for removal of Cr (VI). The results showed that the proper pyrolysis temperature was 650℃, and the ratio of TM and BC was 1:3. SEM results showed that there are many pores in the biochar structure, which is helpful for tourmaline dispersion. The adsorption kinetics was fitted well by the pseudo-second-order model, indicating the sorption is related to chemical absorption. Freundlich adsorption isotherms suggested monolayer adsorption between Cr (Ⅵ) and TMBC, and the maximum adsorption capacity of TMBC for Cr (Ⅵ) was 53.10 mg/g at initial pH 4.0, which is more than twice higher than pristine TM (17.85 mg/g). Such adsorption mechanisms included water automatically polarized, ion exchange and electrode adsorption, among which the automatic polarization of water caused by tourmaline was the unique adsorption property of TMBC. So TMBC composite can be used as an economic adsorbent in the remediation of heavy metal pollution in water.