Effects of biochar-based materials on nickel adsorption and bioavailability in soil

Abstract The potential for toxic elements to contaminate soil has been extensively studied. Therefore, the development of cost-effective methods and materials to prevent toxic element residues in the soil from entering the food chain is of great significance. Industrial and agricultural wastes such as wood vinegar (WV), sodium humate (NaHA) and biochar (BC) were used as raw materials in this study. HA was obtained by acidizing NaHA with WV and then loaded onto BC, which successfully prepared a highly efficient modification agent for nickel-contaminated soil, namely biochar-humic acid material (BC-HA). The characteristics and parameters of BC-HA were obtained by FTIR, SEM, EDS, BET and XPS. The chemisorption of Ni(II) ions by BC-HA conforms to the quasi-second-order kinetic model. Ni(II) ions are distributed on the heterogeneous surface of BC-HA by multimolecular layer adsorption, which accords with the Freundlich isotherm model. WV promotes better binding of HA and BC by introducing more active sites, thus increasing the adsorption capacity of Ni(II) ions on BC-HA. Ni(II) ions in soil are anchored to BC-HA by physical and chemical adsorption, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange and synergy.