U(VI) removal by zerovalent manganese modified corn straw biochar in acidic wastewater: Efficiency, characteristics and mechanism.

The chemical and radiological toxicity of uranium can present a significant risk to both human health and environmental safety. Thus, ZVMn-BC was synthesized through borohydride reduction aimed at investigating its performance in removing U(VI) in acidic environment (pH = 3). Several batch experiments were conducted to assess the sorption capability under various operational conditions and the relevant experimental data were investigated by kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic equations. ZVMn-BC exhibited excellent resistance to interference and showed a superiority on U(VI) removal over zerovalent manganese (ZVMn) and corn straw biochar (BC). Under condition of pH 3, and ambient temperature of 303 K with 0.4 g/L of adsorbent, ZVMn-BC exhibited a theoretical sorption quantity of 274.78 mg/g. The sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic, primarily relying on chemical adsorption. The interaction mechanism involved electrostatic interaction, hydrolysis precipitation, complexation, and redox reactions. This study verified that ZVMn-BC exhibits effective performance for U(VI) eliminating in acidic wastewater.