Role of Point of Zero Charge in the Adsorption of Cationic Textile Dye on Standard Biochars from Aqueous Solutions: Selection Criteria and Performance Assessment

The point of zero charge (PZC) is an inherent electrokinetic property of biochars (BC). It influences the adsorption process under certain pH conditions. Herein, we report the method of determination of the PZC values of ten standard BCs. We used the salt addition method to select the BCs with suitable properties for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solutions. The standard BCs were obtained by pyrolyzing five different biomasses at two distinct temperatures (550°C and 700°C). The BCs derived from rice husk (pHPZC at 7.22 and 7.64 for RH550 and RH700, respectively) and softwood pellets (pHPZC at 6.57 and 6.78 for SWP500 and SWP700, respectively) were selected for their compatibility with cationic dyes such as MB. Results from adsorption experiments indicated the potential use of the RH biochar as an adsorbent for the removal of MB from aqueous solutions. The removal efficiencies were 68.83% and 71.97% for RH550 and RH700, respectively. Considerably low values were obtained for SWP550 and SWP700 (21.61% and 22.84%, respectively). Equilibrium was achieved at 2 h for RH550 and 1 h for RH700, and the adsorption kinetics for the RH BCs could be described by a pseudo-second order equation. The results revealed that even when produced under comparable conditions, BCs obtained from different feedstocks exhibited different cationic dye removing abilities. BCs optimized for the removal of cationic or anionic dyes can be easily engineered by appropriately matching the feedstock with the processing conditions.