ACID AND ALKALINE PRETREATMENT OF BIOCHAR AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE REMOVAL OF BISPHENOL A FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Abstract

This work prepared and compared the efficacies of HNO3 and NH4OH pretreated sugarcane biochar (HNO3-BC and NH4OH-BC) and untreated sugarcane biochar (BC) for the removal of Bisphenol A from aqueous solution. The adsorbents were characterized using SEM and FTIR to observe their morphology and functional group. Further characterization was done for pore volume, bulk density, surface area, pH, moisture and ash contents. Adsorption studies was done by batch process to determine the effect of variation in contact time, adsorbent dosage, concentration, temperature and pH on the removal of bisphenol A by the adsorbents. Results from the analysis showed that adsorption was more favourable and efficient with NH4OH-BC (which was able to remove about 98.30% of BPA at dosage of 0.10g, pH 6, concentration of 70mg/l, time 40 min and temperature of 25oC) than HNO3-BC and BC. Chemically activated adsorbents are very efficient and can be used as an alternative to expensive adsorbents for the uptake of BPA from industrial effluents and other sources before they are discharged into the environment.