Effect of iron impregnation ratio on the properties and adsorption of KOH activated biochar for removal of tetracycline and heavy metals.

Schematic for synthesis and application of MBCs. [Display omitted] • The porous MBCs were prepared by one-step KOH-activated pyrolysis. • The effects of impregnation ratio on magnetic biochar activated by KOH were investigated. • Three common agricultural wastes were prepared as MBCs for contaminant removal. • WS-0.3 showed an adsorption capacity of up to 405.01 mg g−1 for tetracycline. • RH-0.6 and CS-0.6 were superior in removing heavy metal ions. The effect of iron impregnation ratio on magnetic biochars (MBCs) prepared by biomass pyrolysis accompanied by KOH activation has been less reported. In this study, MBCs were produced by one-step pyrolysis/KOH-activation of walnut shell, rice husk and cornstalk with different impregnation ratios (0.3–0.6). The properties, adsorption capacity and cycling performance for Pb(II), Cd(II) and tetracycline of MBCs were determined. MBCs prepared with low impregnation ratio (0.3) showed stronger adsorption capacity on tetracycline. The adsorption capacity of WS-0.3 toward tetracycline was up to 405.01 mg g−1, while that of WS-0.6 was only 213.81 mg g−1. It is noteworthy that rice husk and cornstalk biochar with an impregnation ratio of 0.6 were more effective in removing Pb(II) and Cd(II), and the content of Fe0 crystals on surface strengthened the ion exchange and chemical precipitation. This work highlights that the impregnation ratio should be changed according to the actual application scenarios of MBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]