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. 2025 Aug;43(8):1206-1218.
doi: 10.1177/0734242X241307521. Epub 2024 Dec 31.

Simultaneous remediation of As(V), Cd(II) and Pb(II) in aqueous solution and soil using Fe/Ca-modified biochar

Yan Zhou  1 , Wenhui Liu  1 , Dandan Chen  1 , Bangwei Liu  1 , Ping Lu  1 , Yiwei Zhang  1
Affiliations

Simultaneous remediation of As(V), Cd(II) and Pb(II) in aqueous solution and soil using Fe/Ca-modified biochar

Yan Zhou et al. Waste Manag Res. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

A novel Fe/Ca-modified biochar (BC) derived from corn stalk was prepared in this study for the simultaneous adsorption and immobilization of arsenic, cadmium and lead in aqueous solution and soil, respectively. The adsorption experiment in aqueous solution indicated that 1Ca-Fe@BC exhibited excellent removal efficiency (R, %) towards arsenic (46.3%), cadmium (76.3%) and lead (93.6%). The presence of cadmium and lead could enhance the adsorption efficiency of arsenic by facilitating the formation of ternary complexes with it. Moreover, both cooperative and competitive effects occurred between cadmium and lead adsorption. When the distribution coefficient of cadmium and lead was equimolar, cooperative adsorption prevailed. However, when the distribution coefficient deviated from this balance, competitive adsorption dominated with a higher affinity for lead. The soil culture experiment demonstrated that the utilization of 1Ca-Fe@BC could enhance the stability of arsenic, cadmium and lead in soil by enhancing soil cation exchange capacity and pH while reducing dissolved organic carbon. The competitive and cooperative effects of arsenic, cadmium and lead in soil were consistent with those found in aqueous solution. The results showed that 1Ca-Fe@BC exhibited an excellent remediation efficiency for both arsenic, cadmium and lead-contaminated aqueous solution and soil.

Keywords: Fe/Ca modified; Multi-contamination; biochar; heavy metal; simultaneous remediation.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
This is a visual representation of the abstract.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) XRD patterns and (b) FTIR of 1Ca-Fe@BC. FTIR: Fourier to transform infrared spectroscopy; XRD: X-ray diffraction.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(a) Effect of adsorbent dosage on adsorption and removal efficiency of As; (b) effect of adsorbent dosage on adsorption and removal efficiency of Cd; (c) effect of pH on the adsorption characteristics of arsenic, cadmium and lead.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(a) The adsorption of arsenic, cadmium and lead by different modified biochars in arsenic–cadmium–lead ternary composite adsorption system; (b) the impact of lead concentration on the adsorption of lead by 1Ca-Fe@BC in lead, lead–arsenic and lead–arsenic–cadmium systems; (c) the impact of cadmium concentration on the adsorption of cadmium by 1Ca-Fe@BC in cadmium, cadmium–arsenic and cadmium–arsenic–lead systems.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Simultaneous adsorption mechanism of arsenic, cadmium and lead in aqueous system.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Change in soil properties: (a) pH, (b) CEC and (c) DOC. CEC: cation exchange capacity; DOC: dissolved organic carbon.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
BCR sequential extraction fractions for (a and b) arsenic, (c and d) cadmium and (e and f) lead in soil after 15 and 105 days. BCR: Community Reference Bureau.
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