Adsorption of Cadmium Using Biochars Produced from Agro-Residues

Biochars have been shown as promising materials for cadmium remediation. However, the different precursors and the pyrolysis process operating conditions can yield very different surface functional groups, and as a result, different cadmium sorption mechanisms can be observed in biochars. Herein we present the results of cadmium sorption on biochars produced from the pyrolysis of different agro-residues, namely, coffee husk, quinoa straw, and oil palm kernel shell. The adsorption isotherms were used to determine the influence of the biochar’s physicochemical characteristics to their sorption behavior. The biochars prepared from quinoa residues showed much higher cadmium uptakes than the other biochars. The concentration of base cations was found to be a critical factor for cadmium sorption. Although the quinoa biochars presented large uptakes, it was found that base cations were supported on the biochars and could be removed by leaching. Results from this study suggest that concentration of base cations on biochars could be used as predictors of the biochar capabilities for the removal of cadmium in aqueous solution.