Cited by 489Environmental remediation with nanomaterialsAdsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalEnvironmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies

Multifunctional iron-biochar composites for the removal of potentially toxic elements, inherent cations, and hetero-chloride from hydraulic fracturing wastewater

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Sun, Yuqing, Yu, Iris K.M., Tsang, Daniel C.W., Cao, Xinde, Lin, Daohui, Wang, Linling, Graham, Nigel J.D., Alessi, Daniel S. +4 more·2019·Environment International

Abstract

This paper evaluates a novel sorbent for the removal of potentially toxic elements, inherent cations, and hetero-chloride from hydraulic fracturing wastewater (FWW). A series of iron-biochar (Fe-BC) composites with different Fe/BC impregnation mass ratios (0.5:1, 1:1, and 2:1) were prepared by mixing forestry wood waste-derived BC powder with an aqueous FeCl 3 solution and subsequently pyrolyzing them at 1000 °C in a N 2 -purged tubular furnace. The porosity, surface morphology, crystalline structure, and interfacial chemical behavior of the Fe-BC composites were characterized, revealing that Fe chelated with C O bonds as C O Fe moieties on the BC surface, which were subsequently reduced to a C C bond and nanoscale zerovalent Fe (nZVI) during pyrolysis. The performance of the Fe-BC composites was evaluated for simultaneous removal of potentially toxic elements (Cu(II), Cr(VI), Zn(II), and As(V)), inherent cations (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Ba, and Sr), hetero-chloride (1,1,2-trichlorethane (1,1,2-TCA)), and total organic carbon (TOC) from high-salinity (233 g L −1 total dissolved solids (TDS)) model FWW. By elucidating the removal mechanisms of different contaminants, we demonstrated that Fe-BC (1:1) had an optimal reducing/charge-transfer reactivity owing to the homogenous distribution of nZVI with the highest Fe 0 /Fe 2+ ratio. A lower Fe content in Fe-BC (0.5:1) resulted in a rapid exhaustion of Fe 0 , while a higher Fe content in Fe-BC (2:1) caused severe aggregation and oxidization of Fe 0 , contributing to its complexation/(co-)precipitation with Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ . All of the synthesized Fe-BC composites exhibited a high removal capacity for inherent cations (3.2–7.2 g g −1 ) in FWW through bridging with the C O bonds and cation-π interactions. Overall, this study illustrated the potential efficacy and mechanistic roles of Fe-BC composites for (pre-)treatment of high-salinity and complex FWW.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.047

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  • Electron mobility can be effectively improved by a graphitic carbon framework, and electron-rich sites are evenly distributed over carbon to afford more accessible sites.

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Authors
Sun, Y., Yu, I. K. M., Tsang, D. C. W., Cao, X., Lin, D., Wang, L., Graham, N. J. D., Alessi, D. S., Komárek, M., Ok, Y. S., Feng, Y., & Li, X.-D.
Affiliations
  • Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
  • Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
  • Zhejiang University (CN)
  • Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
  • Korea University (KR)
  • Harbin Institute of Technology (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Tsang, Daniel C.W.
  • Ok, Yong Sik
Venue
Environment International
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-03
Volume
124
Pages
521-532
ISSN
0160-4120 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2914986679
Cited by
489
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 57 · 2022: 83 · 2021: 76 · 2020: 98 · 2019: 73
FWCI
29.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environment International (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • PolyU Institutional Research Archive (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
PolyU (15217818, E-PolyU503/17)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Environmental remediation with nanomaterials
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies
Keywords
hydraulic fracturing wastewater, nanoscale zero-valent iron, potentially toxic elements, heavy metal removal, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, cation-π interactions, saline wastewater, total organic carbon removal, pyrolysis, co-precipitation
MeSH terms
Hydraulic Fracking, Adsorption, Cations, Charcoal, Chlorides, Iron, Oxidation-Reduction, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Wastewater

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