Eco-friendly biochar derived from the cost-effective and easily accessible agricultural waste corncob has been utilized as an adsorbent for decolorization of real textile dye wastewater (RTDW). Slow pyrolysis of the corncob was done in a temperature range of 450-550°C with a consistent heating rate to produce biochar. The biochar yield reduced with increasing temperature of pyrolysis. Chemical treatment of biochar (BC) with sulfuric acid was done to improve the adsorption efficiency. Batch studies were carried out for decolorization of RTDW by varying key reaction parameters in order to further optimize these ones. Significantly high decolorization efficiency of up to 98 % was obtained using acid modified biochar (MBC). The maximum adsorption of dyes with MBC was found to be 6.02 mg g À 1 in 45 minutes at ambient temperature. Advance analytics including Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Zeta Potential etc. were carried out to characterize the adsorbents and to see the changes during the pyrolysis and adsorption processes. The kinetic studies demonstrated that Lagergren's pseudo-II order model was the best fit for both BC and MBC. Also, MBC showed good recyclability as adsorbent when used two more times after degeneration. The germination % of Vigna radiata L. was studied to evaluate the toxicity of the effluents which depicted that dye wastewater after the adsorption by MBC was safe for agricultural use.
This paper describes the potential of waste biomass derived biochar for improvement in the dye wastewater treatment in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The complete MFC, an energy generating unit, was made with the waste products in order to demonstrate that low cost alternatives are available to replicate the positive results. Waste corncob derived biochar produced after acid modification has been evaluated as a supplement in an MFC for treatment of real dye wastewater (RDW). The two doses of sulfuric acid modified corncob biochar (SA‐MCB), (0.5 g and 1 g) and a blank (without any dose) were assessed for the effect on MFC performance. The maximum power density (49.92 W/m2), current density (0.28 A/m2), COD removal efficiency (88.39%), decolorization efficiency (81.6%) and TDS reduction (84.4%) were obtained with 0.5 g biochar dose. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the structural changes occurring on the SA‐MCB after use in the MFC. The SEM analysis revealed the better biofilm formation due to SA‐MCB deposition. Power density with 0.5 g of SA‐MCB dose improved to more than 24 times in comparison to the system without any such dose. The UV spectrophotometer analysis confirmed the azo bond deformation during treatment. The overall results suggest that the use of SA‐MCB biochar as anode material and as a supplement in the MFC system may provide an effective anode‐biofilm in MFCs for wastewater treatment.
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