Adsorption of U(VI) on magnetic iron oxide/Paecilomyces catenlannulatus composites

Development of engineering materials is critical to the improvement of adsorption performance. In this study, the new adsorbent of magnetic iron oxide/biochar (MIO/B) composites was synthesized by one-pot pyrolysis of FeCl2-preloaded Paecilomyces catenlannulatus under N2 conditions. The as-prepared composites were characterized by TEM, XPS, XRD and FT-IR techniques. The characteristic results showed that MIO/B composites presented a variety of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups. The effect of water chemistry on U(VI) adsorption towards MIO/B composites was investigated by batch techniques. The batch adsorption showed that U(VI) adsorption on MIO/B composites was independent of ionic strength at pH from 2.0 to 11.0, approximate 90% of U(VI) was removed by MIO/B composites at reaction time of 12 h. The maximum adsorption capacity of U(VI) on MIO/B composites calculated from Langmuir mode at pH 4.0 and 293 K was 74.63 mg/g. These findings are crucial for the practical application of biochar-based composites for the high effective enrichment of radionuclides from aqueous solutions in environmental remediation.