AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AJWEP026050027
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Removal of antimonite by low-temperature Fe-modified biochar

Jiumei Long1 ,  Dongsheng Zhou1*
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1 College of Resources and Environment, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China
AJWEP, 026050027 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP026050027
Received: 30 January 2026 | Revised: 21 February 2026 | Accepted: 24 February 2026 | Published online: 22 April 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

High-temperature biochar (BC) has been extensively studied for treating wastewater contaminated with antimonite (Sb(III)). In contrast, low-temperature BCs are more energy-efficient and eco-friendly, making them more promising for remediating contaminated environmental media; however, their performance and mechanisms for Sb(III) removal remain largely unexplored. To provide a theoretical basis for remediating antimony–contaminated natural environments, the present study investigated the Sb(III) removal performance and underlying mechanisms of two low-temperature (300 °C) BCs, namely ferric chloride (FeCl3) co-pyrolyzed BC (FB) and FeCl3-impregnated pristine BC (FBC), with pristine BC (PBC) as the control. The Sb(III) removal performance was evaluated using adsorption kinetic and isotherm models, and the mechanisms were elucidated via adsorption experiments across a pH range of 3–10. Results showed that the maximum adsorption capacities of PBC, FB, and FBC were 12.93, 9.01, and 14.57 mg·g−1, with FBC exhibiting superior Sb(III) removal performance. The kinetic model indicated that Sb(III) removal by FB and FBC was dominated by chemisorption. Characterization of the solid phases in the adsorption systems showed that functional groups were mainly responsible for Sb(III) adsorption/oxidation at pH 3, whereas co-oxidation of ferrous iron (Fe(II)) and Sb(III) was dominant at pH 10. Moreover, at an initial Sb(III) concentration of 5 mg·L−1, the residual aqueous Sb(III) in FBC-treated adsorption systems ranged from 0.015 to 0.036 mg·L−1 over the pH range of 3–10, indicating FBC’s high versatility in Sb(III) removal owing to its abundant functional groups and high Fe(II) content. Thus, FBC exhibits substantial potential to remediate Sb(III) contamination in environmental media across a typical environmental pH range of 3.0–10.0.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Sb(III) remediation
Oxygen-containing functional group
Antimonite oxidation
Ferrous iron oxidation
Funding
This study was financially supported by Guizhou Provincial Basic Research Program (Natural Science) (No. Qiankehejichu-ZK[2024]yiban 691), and the Scientific Research Project of Zunyi Normal University (No. Zunshi BS[2023]17).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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