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The unequal distribution of the water resources warrants a search for more energy efficient water treatment technologies. In this regard, capacitive deionization (CDI) could play a leading role particularly in the case of brackish water desalination. In this work, inexpensive materials that are commercially available were investigated for being used as electrodes in CDI. After physical and electrochemical evaluation, activated carbon (AC) demonstrated superior performance compared to the different fabrics tested. Hereafter, a factorial design of experiments was used to investigate the effect of cell potential, mass of AC ( m AC ), carbon black, and interparticle porosity on ion removal, charge efficiency and energy consumption. The results showed that neither carbon black nor macroporosity had a single effect on electrode performance. An interaction effect of macroporosity and m AC was found to be beneficial in terms of ion electrosorption for thick electrodes. An additional evaluation concerning the role of electrode thickness revealed that an increase in thickness translated into an increase in the total salt removed and a reduction in ion removal per mass of electrode. In addition, while electrosorption kinetics were found to be independent of the AC thickness, slow desorption kinetics were detected for the thicker electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Floriform WO 3 /C electrode were developed for electrosorption of U(VI) from water. • The charge/discharge process of WO 3 /C primarily belongs to capacitive controlled behavior. • WO 3 /C electrodes achieve a maximum U(VI) electrosorption capacity of 449.9 mg g−1 at 1.2 V. • Electrosorption of U(VI) is credited to synergistic effect of EDLs and pseudocapacitance from WO 3 /C. Decontamination and recovery of uranium(VI) [U(VI)] from radioactive wastewater is vital to sustainable nuclear power production and reclamation of radioactive waste. As a promising technology of water treatment, capacitive deionization for adsorption of U(VI) started to attract attention. Herein, for the first time, a floriform WO 3 /C composite was developed as a pseudocapacitive electrode material for electrosorption of U(VI) from water. The as-prepared WO 3 /C composite was constructed from dozens of 2D nanosheets with a thin amorphous carbon layer, resulting in uniform flower-like particles with hierarchical nanostructure and superior open pore network. The charge/discharge process of WO 3 /C was demonstrated as prominent capacitive controlled behavior by quantization of capacitance contributions. As a result, the WO 3 /C electrodes achieved a maximum U(VI) electrosorption capacity of 449.9 mg g−1 at 1.2 V and good cycling stability after consecutive adsorption-desorption, which is superior to the conventional physical adsorption processes. The superior CDI performance of the WO 3 /C electrode is credited to the synergistic effect of EDLs and pseudocapacitance based on the combination of WO 3 and carbon layer with hierarchical nanostructure. Overall, the facile preparation strategy, the superior electrosorption performances, and the high cycling stability, endow the floriform WO 3 /C electrodes to be a promising electrode material for electrosorption of U(VI) from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) was fabricated from rice husk biochar for electrosorption of ions in various water and wastewater treatment processes. • HPC was prepared from rice husk biochar using the hard template method. • The HPC was used as an electrode material in CDI. • The HPC had the preferred porous structures for capacitive electrosorption. • Hierarchical porous structure is a key to enhancing electrosorption performance. • HPC has great potential in the removal of inorganic ions. Hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) as an eco-friendly electrode material was fabricated from rice husk biochar using the hard template method for electrosorption of ions. The porous structure in HPC materials can be controlled by different activation times to optimize the material physicochemical and electrochemical properties. The HPC sample achieved a high specific surface area (1839 m2 g−1), large pore volume (1.21 cm3 g−1) and 58% mesopore to total pore volume ratio. The HPC electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical properties with a high specific capacitance of 120.5 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1 in a 1 M NaCl solution as well as good reversibility for capacitive charge storage. The large ion-accessible specific surface area, interconnected pore structure among micropores and mesopores, and large mesoporosity of the HPC electrode played crucial roles in the enhancement of the electrosorption performance. The HPC electrode exhibited a high electrosorption capacity of 8.11 mg g−1 and mean deionization rate of 0.92 mg g−1 min−1 for 20 mM NaCl in single-pass capacitive deionization. The associated charge efficiency and energy consumption were 48.1% and 0.064 kWh mol−1, respectively, indicating a low energy requirement of water desalination. Furthermore, the HPC electrode showed good regeneration ability in consecutive cycles for the removal of inorganic pollutants, i.e., NH 4 +, Mg2+ and Cu2+, with electrosorption capacities of 1.54, 1.53 and 0.52 mg g−1, respectively. Consequently, HPC from tailored activated rice husk biochar can provide a new opportunity to achieve high-performance electrosorption in various water and wastewater treatment processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]