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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/NMsB/15
Removal of azo dyes and heavy metals from aqueous medium using nanocomposite of
NiO nanoparticles and biochar

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1
1
2
Mudassar Ayyub , Muhammad Shahid , Muhammad Imran , Sabir Hussain , Faisal
1
Mahmood , Tanvir Shahzad 1*
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad
2 Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad
3 Department of Environmental Sciences, CUI Vehari Campus
Correspondence: tanvirshahzad@gcuf.edu.pk
Abstract

A biochar-based nickel oxide nanocomposite (nNiO-RHB) was synthesized by co-precipitation
method. NiO-NPs (nNiO) were prepared using co-precipitation method and biochar was
prepared using Rice Husk (RHB) via pyrolysis. The prepared materials were used for the
removal of azo dyes viz. Reactive black 5 (RB5), Reactive red 2 (RR2), and Orange II sodium
salt (O-II) and heavy metals viz. Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb). The prepared
materials were characterized by SEM, XRD, and FTIR, to found the surface morphology,
average crystallite size, shape and purity, and functional groups, respectively of prepared
materials. The photocatalytic degradation for dyes was assessed under different factors, e.g.
doses viz, 0.02-0.1 g/10mL, dyes concentration of 20-100 ppm, and the retention time was 60-
120 min. For HMs the doses viz, 0.05 and 0.1 g/10mL, HMs concentration 10 and 20 ppm, and
the retention time was 120-240 min. At optimum conditions for dyes the nNiO and nNiO-RHB
showed excellent degradation of 73.47% and 87.55%, 67.78% and 95.65%, and 67.27% and
92.72% for O-II, RB5, and RR2, respectively after 120 min. On the other hand, at optimal
conditions the RHB and nNiO-RHB showed 22.39% and 76.47%, 19.69% and 75.67% and
27.32% and 78.57% removal for Cr, Cd, and Pb, respectively after 240 min. In conclusion, our
study proves that the nanocomposite of nNiO with rice-husk derived biochar was the best
material to remove the three azo dyes and the three heavy metals used in this study.

Keywords: heavy metals; azo dyes; biochar; nanoparticles

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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