Rapid immobilization of Cr(VI) from aqueous waste through multi-functionalized surface-modified lignin-based aerogels: Dynamic and mechanism analyses

Water containing heavy metal ions can be extremely harmful to the environment and human body, thus the development of low-cost and high-efficient adsorbents has an exciting prospect. In this study, lignin/graphene aerogels modified with polydopamine and polyethyleneimine, respectively, were successfully prepared to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous waste. The physicochemical properties of graphene aerogels (GA), lignin/graphene aerogels (LGA), polydopamine-modified lignin/graphene aerogels (LGA@PDA), polyethyleneimine-modified lignin/graphene aerogels (LGA@PEI) were investigated using FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, SEMEDS, and BET analysis. The results demonstrate that adsorbents have a high specific surface area, an interconnected porous structure, and a large number of oxygen-containing groups, making them particularly favorable for heavy metal adsorption. The effects of GO/lignin ratio, surface modifiers, solution pH, contact time, initial concentration and temperature on the Cr(VI) removal were investigated and compared via batch experiments. Compared with GA (138.74 +/- 3.93 mg/g), the adsorption capacity of LGA with GO/LA ratio 40:1 increased to 167.66 +/- 4.75 mg/g. Furthermore, the maximum adsorption capacity of LGA@PEI and LGA@PDA rose up to 209.85 +/- 3.25 mg/g and 240.39 +/- 3.26 mg/mg, respectively. By simulating the experimental data with different kinetic models and isotherm models, the adsorption processes of different lignin-derived aerogels were further explored under various conditions. All types of aerogels fit well with the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model. In addition, the XPS results confirm that the chemical reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) also plays a role in the removal of Cr(VI). The results demonstrated that the removal effect of lignin-derived aerogels on Cr(VI) was greatly improved through the multi-functionalized surface modification of LGA with PDA and PEI. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of LGA@PDA and LGA@PEI for Cr(VI) remained stable after repeated regeneration. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that LGA@PDA and LGA@PEI are promising Cr(VI) adsorbents for practical applications in wastewater treatment.