Invasive plants pose a great threat to natural ecosystems
owing
to their rapid propagation and spreading ability in nature. Herein,
a typical invasive plant, Solidago canadensis, was chosen as a novel feedstock for the preparation of nano-sized
lanthanum-loaded S. canadensis-derived
biochar (SCBC-La), and its adsorption performance for phosphate removal
was evaluated by batch adsorption experiment. The composite was characterized
by multiple techniques. Effects of parameters, such as the initial
concentration of phosphate, time, pH, coexisting ions, and ionic strength,
were studied on the phosphate removal. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms
showed that SCBC-La shows a faster adsorption rate at a low concentration
and SCBC-La exhibits good La utilization efficiency than some of the
reported La-modified adsorbents. Phosphate can be effectively removed
over a relatively wide pH of 3–9 because of the high pH
pzc
of SCBC-La. Furthermore, the SCBC-La shows
a strong anti-interference capability in terms of pH value, coexisting
ions, and ionic strength, exhibiting a highly selective capacity for
phosphate removal. Additionally, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements reveal
that hydroxyl groups on the surface of SCBC-La were replaced by phosphate
and manifest the reversible transformation between La(OH)3 and LaPO4. Considering its high adsorption capacity and
excellent selectivity, SCBC-La is a promising material for preventing
eutrophication. This work gives a new method of pollution control
with waste treatment since the invasive plant (S. canadensis) is converted into biochar-based nanocomposite for effective removal
of phosphate to mitigate eutrophication.