title: Removing ammonium from water using modified corncob-biochar.
abstract: Ammonium pollution in groundwater and surface water is of major concern in many parts of the world due to the danger it poses to the environment and people's health. This study focuses on the development of a low cost adsorbent, specifically a modified biochar prepared from corncob. Evaluated here is the efficiency of this new material for removing ammonium from synthetic water (ammonium concentration from 10 to 100mg/L). The characteristics of the modified biochar were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) test, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that ammonium adsorption on modified biochar strongly depended on pH. Adsorption kinetics of NH4+-N using modified biochar followed the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Both Langmuir and Sips adsorption isotherm models could simulate well the adsorption behavior of ammonium on modificated biochar. The highest adsorption capacity of 22.6mg NH4+-N/g modified biochar was obtained when the biochar was modified by soaking it in HNO36M and NaOH 0.3M for 8h and 24h, respectively. The high adsorption capacity of the modified biochar suggested that it is a promising adsorbent for NH4+-N remediation from water.
authors.affiliation: Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 44 Phu Dien, Tu Niem, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Thi Mai
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Vu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, A30, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Van Tuyen
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Trinh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Science, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet Street, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Dinh Phuong
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Doan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environment and Earth Science, Thai Nguyen University of Sciences, Tan Thinh ward, Thai Nguyen city, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Huu Tap
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Van
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: Tien.Nguyen@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Tien Vinh
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Saravanamuthu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vigneswaran
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: HuuHao.Ngo@uts.edu.au.
authors.forename: Huu Hao
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Ngo
keywords: Adsorption; Ammonium; Biochar; Corncob