Manganese oxide-loaded activated carbon for ammonium removal from wastewater: the roles of adsorption and oxidation.

The urgent need to address the severe issue of nitrogen pollution has prompted the search for a functional and easy recycling material. In this study, manganese oxides (MnO) were loaded on activated carbon (AC), resulting in a composite known as AC-MnO, for efficient ammonium removal from aqueous solutions. The results indicated a remarkable 15.6-fold increase in ammonium removal efficiency and a fivefold enhancement in removal capacity for AC-MnO (3.20 mg/g) compared to AC. Under specific conditions (initial NH-N concentration of 15 mg/L, adsorbent dose of 2.5 g, pH of 6.5, and temperature of 35 ℃), the highest achieved ammonium removal efficiency reached 94.6%. Furthermore, the study distinguishes the contributions of catalytic oxidation and adsorption in the removal process. The adsorption process was effectively modeled using pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models. Interestingly, the amount of oxidation conversion (N) exhibited a linear relationship with the dosage when the initial ammonium concentration was sufficiently high, while the relationship between initial ammonium concentration and the ratio of N to adsorption capacity (N) followed a negative exponential trend. The removal mechanisms involved electrostatic interaction between ammonium and the negatively charged dehydrogenated hydroxyl groups (- OH) or cation tunnel in crystal structures of MnO, ion exchange adsorption, and the oxidation impact of MnO. This research provides valuable insights into the application of immobilized MnO media for ammonium removal. Moreover, filling AC-MnO into constructed wetlands (CW) proved to be an effective method for reducing ammonium pollution, demonstrating its potential in the field of engineering wastewater treatment.