Nano-manganese oxides-modified biochar for efficient chelated copper citrate removal from water by oxidation-assisted adsorption process

Removal of chelated copper from wastewater is more difficult than that of copper ions owing to its stable structure, wide range of pH tolerance, and stronger mobility. Copper citrate (CuCA) widely exists in the water system and inevitably poses serious hazards to human health and environment. Biochar as economic functional material has been widely used for environmental applications, especially in wastewater treatment. This study focused on the performance of manganese oxide-modified biochar (BC-MnOx) toward uptake and removal of CuCA and to understand the related mechanism. The result indicated that the CuCA removal efficiency reached up to 99%. High removal efficiency and low concentration of dissolved Mn over a wide pH range proved that the BC-MnOx is efficient and chemically stable. Furthermore, the removal mechanism may involve the following processes: First, CuCA was removed via the chemical bonds formed between CuCA and MnOx on the surface of BC. Second, chemisorption due to the oxygen-containing functional groups or physisorption of porous structure in BC worked synergistically on CuCA. Third, CuCA was partially oxidized into low molecular weight acids by means of MnOx, while the released Cu ions were retained on the adsorbent surface. This study demonstrates that BC-MnOx is a promising material for the removal of CuCA from wastewater. [Display omitted] •Economic and highly efficient BC-MnOx materials were prepared by simple method.•Stable modified biochar was efficient to uptake chelated copper over wide pH range.•The synergistic effect was the main copper citrate removal mechanism.•The removal mechanism included physisorption, chemisorption, and oxidation process.•Both adsorption on BC-MnOx and oxidation of MnOx were involved in removal process.