Simultaneous sorption and catalytic oxidation of trivalent antimony by Canna indica derived biochars

The simultaneous sorption and oxidation of Sb(III) on biochars were investigated using batch experiments. The biochars were derived from Canna indica at different pyrolysis temperatures (300-600 °C, referred as CIB300-CIB600), and characterized by FTIR, BET, XRD, SEM-EDS, EPR and Boehm titration. The Sb(III) sorption data could be well fitted by both the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the pseudo-second order model is best for describing the kinetic data. The maximum Sb(III) sorption capacity of CIB300 was 16.1 mg g^-1, which was greater than that of other biochars. Inner-sphere complexation with oxygen-containing functional groups and coordination with π electrons are the possible sorption mechanisms. It is worthwhile to note that 4.7-32.3% of Sb(III) was oxidized to Sb(V) after sorption equilibration, demonstrating the occurrence of Sb(III) oxidation during the sorption process. Further study of oxidation under anoxic condition confirmed the catalytic role of biochar for Sb(III) oxidation, and free radicals in biochars were crucial for electron transfer. CIB400 exhibited the highest catalytic oxidative ability for Sb(III), which could be ascribe to its reserve of more electroactive polyphenolic macromolecule and less electroinactive cellulose. These results imply that biochars have good potential as a green effective sorbent for remediation of Sb(III) contaminated water, and simultaneously reduce the toxicity of Sb(III) by catalytic oxidation.