Preparation of Graphene Oxide Modified Rice Husk for Cr(VI) Removal

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to study the removal of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution by using a new graphene oxide-coated rice husk biochar composite (GO-RHB). GO-RHB is a synthetic material having a porous structure with lots of oxygen-containing functional groups and a large surface area that provide effective adsorption sites. Experiments showed that GO-RHB had higher adsorption capacity under acidic than under alkaline conditions. At pH of 2, GO-RHB has the maximum adsorption capacity(48.8 mg g−1). Equilibrium data obtained by fitting with the Langmuir and Freundlich models indicate that the reaction process was monolayer adsorption. The adsorption of Cr(VI) followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model that illustrates chemical adsorption. Intraparticlediffusion studies further revealed that film diffusion was taking place. Moreover, the results of thermodynamics showed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The removal mechanism of Cr(VI) was also explained in detail. The prepared adsorbent is highly efficient and might be useful than many other conventional adsorbent used for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater.