Assessing the adsorption capacities of hyperaccumulator biochars compared to wood waste biochar

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

10th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Written Paper Award

3rd Place

Abstract

Current heavy metal removal methods are expensive and impractical, so finding an alternative method is vital. Biochars are natural heavy metal adsorbents, but are often ineffective, having low adsorption capacities. This experiment aimed to find a cost-efficient method of increasing biochars’ adsorption capacities and hypothesized that biochars made of hyperaccumulator plants, which are able to remediate heavy metals in soil, would perform better than wood biochar. Biochars were made of three hyperaccumulator plants, Helianthus annuus, Beta vulgaris cicla, and Brassica oleracea var. sabellica, and wooden planks on a gas grill at 315℃. A 50 mg/L solution of methylene blue (MB), a cationic dye which mimics heavy metals, was made and 2g/L of biochar was added. Its absorbance was measured at 670 nm before and after treatment using a spectrophotometer. The solution was periodically stirred over 24 hours after which the amount of methylene blue was found and used in the equation q =(Co-Ce)/V*M to calculate the biochar’s adsorption capacities. Kale biochar had the highest adsorption capacity (21.58 mg MB/g biochar), followed by sunflower (21.00 mg MB/g biochar), chard (19.54 mg MB/g biochar), and wood (0.94 mg MB/g

Location

Wall 206

Start Date

3-25-2017 1:30 PM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 1:30 PM

Assessing the adsorption capacities of hyperaccumulator biochars compared to wood waste biochar

Wall 206

Current heavy metal removal methods are expensive and impractical, so finding an alternative method is vital. Biochars are natural heavy metal adsorbents, but are often ineffective, having low adsorption capacities. This experiment aimed to find a cost-efficient method of increasing biochars’ adsorption capacities and hypothesized that biochars made of hyperaccumulator plants, which are able to remediate heavy metals in soil, would perform better than wood biochar. Biochars were made of three hyperaccumulator plants, Helianthus annuus, Beta vulgaris cicla, and Brassica oleracea var. sabellica, and wooden planks on a gas grill at 315℃. A 50 mg/L solution of methylene blue (MB), a cationic dye which mimics heavy metals, was made and 2g/L of biochar was added. Its absorbance was measured at 670 nm before and after treatment using a spectrophotometer. The solution was periodically stirred over 24 hours after which the amount of methylene blue was found and used in the equation q =(Co-Ce)/V*M to calculate the biochar’s adsorption capacities. Kale biochar had the highest adsorption capacity (21.58 mg MB/g biochar), followed by sunflower (21.00 mg MB/g biochar), chard (19.54 mg MB/g biochar), and wood (0.94 mg MB/g