Production and characterisation of biochar from tea waste and its nickel removal capacity from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Biochar, a carbon-rich solid product of slow pyrolysis of biomass, has gained interest due to its application in the various aims. Investigating of adsorption properties of biochar for removing pollutants from waste water is current research areas. The objective of this study is to obtain biochar from industrial tea waste, characterise it in detail and determine biochar's heavy metal adsorption potential to Ni(II) ions. Biochar prepared at 300°C and 400°C and characterised by various methods; elemental analysis, TGA, XRD, XRF, SEM and FTIR. The surface area and pH were determined as well. It was found out that biochar is mesoporous and the structures show more cellulosic characteristics. Carbonisation and aromaticity increase with increasing temperature. The magnitude of adsorption potential is between 500 J/mol and 4000 J/mol and decreases with increasing Ni concentration from 85 ppm to 205 ppm. The adsorption capacities of biochar are much lower than origin of biomass. Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.