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Adsorption of Pyrene onto the Agricultural By-Product: Corncob

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Abstract

The adsorption behavior of pyrene on corncob was studied to provide a theoretical basis for the possible use of this material as an immobilized carrier for improving the bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil. The results were as follows. Kinetic experiments showed that the adsorption processes obeyed a pseudo-second-order model. The intraparticle diffusion of Weber–Morris model fitting showed that the film and intraparticle diffusions were the key rate-limiting processes, and the adsorption process mainly consisted of three steps: boundary layer diffusion and two intra-particle diffusions. Experimental adsorption data for pyrene were successfully described by the adsorption–partition equilibrium model. The maximum adsorption capacity at 25°C was 214.8 μg g−1. The adsorption contribution decreased significantly when the Ce/Sw (the equilibrium concentration/solubility in water) was higher than 1. Adsorption decreased with increased temperature. Based on the above results, the corncob particles could be helpful in the bioremediation of pyrene-contaminated soil.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41101295, 41201310 and 41271336) and sponsored by Chinese Scholarship Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Xiaojun Li, Dongli Tong, Chunyun Jia, Zongqing Gong & Wan Liu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Dongli Tong

  3. Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Remediation (EnSuRe), RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia

    Graeme Allinson

  4. Australia-China Joint Research Centre on River Basin Management (Water Resources and Water Quality), University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Graeme Allinson

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  1. Xiaojun Li
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  2. Dongli Tong
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  3. Graeme Allinson
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  4. Chunyun Jia
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  5. Zongqing Gong
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  6. Wan Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaojun Li or Chunyun Jia.

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Li, X., Tong, D., Allinson, G. et al. Adsorption of Pyrene onto the Agricultural By-Product: Corncob. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 96, 113–119 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1687-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1687-1

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