Mild hydrothermally treated brewer's spent grain for efficient removal of uranyl and rare earth metal ions

Su Y, Boehm W, Wenzel M, Paasch S, Acker M, Doert T, Brunner E, Henle T, Weigand JJ (2020)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Book Volume: 10

Pages Range: 45116-45129

Journal Issue: 73

DOI: 10.1039/d0ra08164g

Abstract

The increasing concerns on uranium and rare earth metal ion pollution in the environment require sustainable strategies to remove them from wastewater. The present study reports an eco-friendly approach to convert a kind of protein-rich biomass, brewer's spent grain (BSG), into effective biosorbents for uranyl and rare earth metal ions. The employed method reduces the energy consumption by performing the hydrothermal treatment at a significantly lower temperature (150 °C) than conventional hydrothermal carbonization. In addition, with the aid of the Maillard reaction between carbohydrates and proteins forming melanoidins, further activation processes are not required. Treatment at 150 °C for 16 h results in an altered biosorbent (ABSG) with increased content of carboxyl groups (1.46 mmol g-1) and a maximum adsorption capacity for La3+, Eu3+, Yb3+ (pH = 5.7) and UO22+ (pH = 4.7) of 38, 68, 46 and 221 mg g-1, respectively. Various characterization methods such as FT-IR, 13C CP/MAS NMR, SEM-EDX and STA-GC-MS analysis were performed to characterize the obtained material and to disclose the adsorption mechanisms. Aside from oxygen-containing functional groups, nitrogen-containing functional groups also contribute to the adsorption. These results strongly indicate that mild hydrothermal treatment of BSG could be applied as a greener, low-cost method to produce effective adsorbents for uranyl and rare earth metal ion removal.

Involved external institutions

How to cite

APA:

Su, Y., Boehm, W., Wenzel, M., Paasch, S., Acker, M., Doert, T.,... Weigand, J.J. (2020). Mild hydrothermally treated brewer's spent grain for efficient removal of uranyl and rare earth metal ions. RSC Advances, 10(73), 45116-45129. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ra08164g

MLA:

Su, Yi, et al. "Mild hydrothermally treated brewer's spent grain for efficient removal of uranyl and rare earth metal ions." RSC Advances 10.73 (2020): 45116-45129.

BibTeX: Download