Functionality of wheat straw-derived biochar enhanced its efficiency for actively capping Cd and Pb in contaminated water and soil matrices: Insights through batch adsorption and flow-through experiments.

The impact of functionality of biochar on pressing environmental issue of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) co-contamination in simultaneous soil and water systems has not sufficiently reported. This study investigated the impact of Fe- and Mg-functionalized wheat straw biochar (Fe-WSBC and Mg-WSBC) on Cd and Pb adsorption/immobilization through batch sorption and column leaching trials. Importantly, Fe-WSBC was more effective in adsorbing Cd and Pb (82.84 and 111.24 mg g), regeneration ability (removal efficiency 94.32 and 92.365), and competitive ability under competing cations (83.15 and 84.36%) compared to other materials (WSBC and Mg-WSBC). The practical feasibility of Fe-WSBC for spiked river water verified the 92.57% removal of Cd and 85.73% for Pb in 50 mg L and 100 mg L contamination, respectively. Besides, the leaching of Cd and Pb with Fe-WSBC under flow-through conditions was lowered to (0.326 and 17.62 mg L), respectively as compared to control (CK) (0.836 and 40.40 mg L). In short, this study presents the applicable approach for simultaneous remediation of contaminated water and soil matrices, offering insights into environmentally friendly green remediation strategies for heavy metals co-contaminated matrices.