A novel sorbent made from biochar modified with an amorphous Mn oxide (AMOchar) was compared with pure biochar, pure AMO, AMO+biochar mixtures and biochar+birnessite composite for the removal of various metal(loid)s from aqueous solutions using adsorption and solid-state analyses. The AMOchar proved most efficient, removing 99.9 and 51% of Pb, As and Cd, respectively. Moreover, reduced Mn leaching was observed in comparison with pure AMO. It is therefore concluded that the Mn oxide-biochar composite acts as a double sorbent of enhanced efficiency, compared with the individual deployment of their component materials.
Trakal L., Michálková Z., Beesley L., Vítková M., Ouředníček P., Barceló A.P., Ettler V., Číhalová S., Komárek M., 2018. AMOchar: Amorphous manganese oxide coating of biochar improves its efficiency at removing metal(loid)s from aqueous solutions. Science of the Total Environment 625, 71-78. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.267
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