Highly efficient catalysis of chalcopyrite with surface bonded ferrous species for activation of peroxymonosulfate toward degradation of bisphenol A: A mechanism study

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by biochar and biochar-based materials for degrading refractory organics in water: a review

Water pollution caused by refractory organics has attracted widespread concern in recent years. At this time peroxymonofulfate (PMS) has been widely used to generate sulfate radicals with high reactivity and potential. The direct reaction rate between PMS and organics is very low. However, the activated PMS has a strong oxidizing ability on organics due to its conversion into sulfate radicals. Recently, the free radicals generated by oxidant PMS and catalyst biochar have proven to be an effective species in dealing with refractory organics. In order to enable researchers to better understand the current research status of PMS/biochar, and to promote the development and application of PMS/biochar system, we have written this review. This review in detail described the mechanism of PMS activated by biochar materials, and summarized the influencing factors of refractory organics degradation in the PMS/biochar system. In addition, the active sites of PMS/biochar, the degradation mechanism of refractory organics, and the reusability of biochar catalysts were also discussed. Finally, the concluding remarks and perspectives were made for future research on the PMS/biochar system in the degradation of refractory organics.

Recent advances in waste water treatment through transition metal sulfides-based advanced oxidation processes

With the ever-growing water pollution issues, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have received growing attention due to their high efficiency in the removal of refractory organic pollutants. Transition metal sulfides (TMSs), with excellent optical, electrical, and catalytical performance, are of great interest as heterogeneous catalysts. These TMSs-based heterogeneous catalysts have been demonstrated to becapable and adaptable in water purification through advanced oxidation processes. The aim of this review is to conduct an exhaustive analysis and summary of recent progress in the application of TMSs-based AOPs for water decontamination. Firstly, the commonly used tuning strategies for TMSs-based catalysts are concisely introduced, including artificial size and shape control, composition control, doping, and heterostructure manufacturing. Then, a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art progress on TMSs-based AOPs (i.e., Fenton-like oxidation, photocatalytic oxidation, and electro chemical oxidation processes) for wastewater treatment is discussed in detail, with an emphasis on their catalytic performance and involved mechanism. In addition, influencing factors of water chemistry, namely, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, inorganic species, and natural organic matter on the catalytic performance of established AOPs are analyzed. Furthermore, the reusability and stability of TMSs-based catalysts in these AOPs are also outlined. Finally, current challenges and future perspectives related to TMSs-based catalysts and their applications for AOPs wastewater treatment are proposed. It is expected that this review would shed some light on the future development of TMSs-based AOPs towards water purification.

Efficient activation of peroxymonosulfate by copper sulfide for diethyl phthalate degradation: Performance, radical generation and mechanism

Copper-containing minerals have been extensively used in Fenton-like processes for degradation of pollutants and have exhibited great potential for environmental remediation. This work reports the first use of copper sulfide (CuS), a typical Cu-mineral, for the activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for pollutant degradation; the study also elucidates the underlying mechanism of these processes. Copper sulfide effectively activated PMS to degrade diethyl phthalate (DEP). Electron paramagnetic resonance, free radical quenching, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analyses and DFT calculations confirmed that ≡Cu (I)/≡Cu (II) cycling on the surface of CuS provided the main pathway to activate PMS to produce highly oxidative species. Unlike conventional sulfate radical-based PMS activation processes, hydroxyl radical (^•OH) were found to be the dominant radical in the tested CuS/PMS system, which performed more efficiently than an alternative ^•OH-based oxidation system (CuS/H₂O₂) for DEP degradation. In addition, the presence of anions such Cl^- and NO₃^- has limited inhibition effects on DEP degradation. Overall, this study provides an efficient pathway for PMS-based environmental remediation as well as a new insight into the mechanism of PMS activation by Cu-containing minerals.

Rapid removal of organic pollutants by a novel persulfate/brochantite system: Mechanism and implication

Using natural minerals as persulfate activators can develop effective and economical in situ chemical oxidation technology for environmental remediation. Yet, few natural minerals can provide a high activation efficiency. Here, we demonstrate that brochantite (Cu₄SO₄(OH)₆), a natural mineral, can be used as a persulfate activator for the rapid degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC-H). Approximately 70% of TC-H was removed in Cu₄SO₄(OH)₆/PDS within 5 min, which much higher than that of Cu₃P (61.99%), CuO (29.75%), CNT (25.83%), Fe₂O₃, (14.48%) and MnO₂ (9.76%). Experiments and theoretical calculations suggested that surface copper acts as active sites induce the production of free radicals. The synergistic effect of Cu/S promotes the cycle between Cu⁺/Cu²⁺. Sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals are the main reactive oxygen species that are responsible for the rapid removal of TC-H. The findings of this work show a novel persulfate/brochantite system and provide useful information for the environmental remediation.

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Chalcopyrite/Silver Phosphate Composites with Enhanced Degradation of Rhodamine B under Photo-Fenton Process

A new composite by coupling chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) with silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) (CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄) was proposed by using a cyclic microwave heating method. The prepared composites were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under optimum conditions and 2.5 W irradiation (wavelength length > 420 nm, power density = 0.38 Wcm⁻²), 96% of rhodamine B (RhB) was degraded by CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄ within a 1 min photo-Fenton reaction, better than the performance of Ag₃PO₄ (25% degradation within 10 min), CuFeS₂ (87.7% degradation within 1 min), and mechanically mixed CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄ catalyst. RhB degradation mainly depended on the amount of hydroxyl radicals generated from the Fenton reaction. The degradation mechanism of CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄ from the photo-Fenton reaction was deduced using a free radical trapping experiment, the chemical reaction of coumarin, and photocurrent and luminescence response. The incorporation of CuFeS₂ in Ag₃PO₄ enhanced the charge separation of Ag₃PO₄ and reduced Ag₃PO₄ photocorrosion as the photogenerated electrons on Ag₃PO₄ were transferred to regenerate Cu²⁺/Fe³⁺ ions produced from the Fenton reaction to Cu⁺/Fe²⁺ ions, thus simultaneously maintaining the CuFeS₂ intact. This demonstrates the synergistic effect on material stability. However, hydroxyl radicals were produced by both the photogenerated holes of Ag₃PO₄ and the Fenton reaction of CuFeS₂ as another synergistic effect in catalysis. Notably, the degradation performance and the reusability of CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄ were promoted. The practical applications of this new material were demonstrated from the effective performance of CuFeS₂/Ag₃PO₄ composites in degrading various dyestuffs (90–98.9% degradation within 10 min) and dyes in environmental water samples (tap water, river water, pond water, seawater, treated wastewater) through enhanced the Fenton reaction under sunlight irradiation.

Facile Construction of a Copper-Containing Covalent Bond for Peroxymonosulfate Activation: Efficient Redox Behavior of Copper Species via Electron Transfer Regulation

Heterogeneous catalysis can be enhanced through the construction of effective atom connection for rapid electron transport on the catalyst surface. Hence, this study proposed a new strategy for electron transfer regulation to facilitate redox cycle of Cu(II)/Cu(I). The objective was achieved by successful construction of copper-containing covalent bond through the in situ growth of porous g-C₃N₄ with oxygen dopants and nitrogen defects (O-CN_D) on CuAl_xO_y substrate (CuAl@O-CN_D). On the basis of X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and other characterization results, the facilitated redox behavior of copper species by electron transfer regulation was ascribed to the formation of a C-O-Cu bond on the porous-rich superficial of the catalyst; these covalent C-O-Cu bonds shortened the migration distance of electrons between Cu(II) and Cu(I) via Cu(I)-O-C-O-Cu(II) bridge. The construction of copper-containing covalent bonds in the catalyst resulted in efficient PMS activation for a rapid redox cycle of Cu(II)/Cu(I), triggering a series of reactions involving the continuous production of three highly active species (SO₄^·-, ^·OH and ¹O₂). The rapid diffusion and transportation of the generated active species from porous structures directly attack typical pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), achieving superior catalytic performance. This study provides a new routine to construct a C-O-Cu bond for PMS activation by regulating the electron transfer to accelerate the redox behavior of copper species for environmental remediation.

Upcycling of groundwater treatment sludge to an erdite nanorod as a highly effienct activation agent of peroxymonosulfate for wastewater treatment

Groundwater treatment sludge is an Fe-rich waste continuously generated in large amounts through potable water production at groundwater treatment plants. In this study, the sludge was converted to erdite nanorod particles via a one-step hydrothermal route with only adding Na₂S. The sludge was a mixture of ferrihydrite, hematite and Si/Al oxides. After hyddrothemal treatment, erdite was primarily formed from ferrihydrite, which accounted for 91.2% of the Fe species in the sludge, whereas approximately 8.8% of hematite accounted for the Fe species that remained before and after the reaction. The produced erdite nanorods were approximately 200 nm in diameter and 1-3 μm in length. They also exhibited a superior efficiency in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. Nearly 100% quinoline removal (initail concentration = 10 mg L^-1) was achieved when the eridite nanorods were used with PMS. The removal rate of quinoline was much higher than that of raw sludge, nano-scale zero-valent iron, FeS, hematite and magnetite. The erdite nanorods or the PMS alone had a quinoline removal rate of less than 20%. The erdite nanorods were spontaneously hydrolysed to generate Fe²⁺ for PMS activation and to form S species for the reductive cycling of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺, which likely promoted PMS activation. This study not only highlighted a facile method to recycle the sludge for erdite nanorod preparation but also presented a novel nanomaterial that could efficiently activate PMS for organic wastewater treatment.

Unravelling lewis acidic and reductive characters of normal and inverse nickel-cobalt thiospinels in directing catalytic H2O2 cleavage

(Inverse) spinel-typed bimetallic sulfides are fascinating H₂O₂ scissors because of the inclusion of S^2-, which can regenerate metals (M^δ+, δ ≤ 2) used to produce ^•OH via H₂O₂ dissection. These sulfides, however, were under-explored regarding compositional, structural, and electronic tunabilities based on the proper selection of metal constituents. Motivated by S-modified Ni^δ+/Co^δ+ promising to H₂O₂ cleavage, Ni₂CoS₄, NiCo₂S₄, NiS/CoS were synthesized and contrasted with regards to their catalytic traits. Ni₂CoS₄ provided the greatest activity in dissecting H₂O₂ among the catalysts. Nonetheless, Ni₂CoS₄ catalyzed H₂O₂ scission primarily via homogeneous catalysis mediated by leached Ni^δ+/Co^δ+. Conversely, NiCo₂S₄, NiS, and CoS catalyzed H₂O₂ cleavage mainly via unleached Ni^δ+/Co^δ+-enabled heterogeneous catalysis. Of significance, NiCo₂S₄ provided Lewis acidic strength favorable to adsorb H₂O₂ and desorb ^•OH compared to NiS and CoS, respectively. Of additional significance, NiCo₂S₄ provided S^2- with lesser energy required to reduce M^(δ+1)+ via e- transfer than NiS/CoS. Hence, NiCo₂S₄ prompted H₂O₂ scission cycle per unit time better than NiS/CoS, as evidenced by kinetic assessments. NiCo₂S₄ was also superior to Ni₂CoS₄ because of the elongated lifespan anticipated as ^•OH producer, resulting from heterogeneous catalysis with moderate Ni^δ+/Co^δ+ leaching. Furthermore, NiCo₂S₄ revealed the greatest recyclability and mineralization efficiency in decomposing recalcitrants via ^•OH-mediated oxidation.

CuCo2O4 supported on activated carbon as a novel heterogeneous catalyst with enhanced peroxymonosulfate activity for efficient removal of organic pollutants

CuCo₂O₄ was synthesized via a relatively simple method, and innovatively supported onto the activated carbon (AC) by calcination to obtain a novel heterogeneous catalyst (AC-CuCo₂O₄). Brilliant red 3BF (3BF) was selected as the probe compound to investigate the catalytic activity of AC-CuCo₂O₄ in the presence of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The results showed that 98% removal rate could be achieved and the reaction rate constant (0.476 min^-1) was 5.2 times greater than that of CuCo₂O₄ alone (0.091min^-1), suggesting that the introduction of AC could greatly enhance the catalytic activity of pure CuCo₂O₄. Typically, the 3BF removal was as high as 96% after five cycles, showing the good stability of catalyst reuse. Additionally, the effects of the initial pH, catalyst dosage, PMS concentration and reaction temperature on the 3BF removal were investigated, demonstrating that AC-CuCo₂O₄ effectively remove 3BF over a wide pH range (5.0-10.0) and possessed temperature-tolerant performance. To further explore the 3BF removal mechanism, electron paramagnetic resonance technology combining with trapping agents was employed to confirm the involvement of reactive oxygen species including SO₄^•-, ^•OH, O₂^•- and ¹O₂, which distinctly differed from the reported CuCo₂O₄ for PMS activation. These findings provided an addition promising strategy in environmental remediation.

A study on the mechanism of oxidized quinoline removal from acid solutions based on persulfate-iron systems

Quinoline (Qu) and its derivatives have been widely regarded as hazardous pollutants in the world because of their acute toxicity to humans and animals, and potential carcinogenic risks. In this study, a novel sulfate radical system co-activated by ferrous and ZVI was developed to remove Qu from acidic solutions. The optimal ratio of ferrous and ZVI in the system and the mechanism of Qu removal from acidic solutions are also explored. The ZVI can initiate activation using hydrogen ions, which are released from the reaction of Fe2+, organics and PS in acidic solutions. This may dramatically improve the overall removal efficiency of Qu. The results indicated that the initial removal rate of Qu increases from 85.8% to 92.9%. The cleavage pathway of Qu is speculated by Frontier molecular orbital (FMO) theory and verified by GC/MS analysis.

Heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate by a biochar-supported Co3O4 composite for efficient degradation of chloramphenicols

Herein, a new peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation system was established using a biochar (BC)-supported Co₃O₄ composite (Co₃O₄-BC) as a catalyst to enhance chloramphenicols degradation. The effects of the amount of Co₃O₄ load on the BC, Co₃O₄-BC amount, PMS dose and solution pH on the degradation of chloramphenicol (CAP) were investigated. The results showed that the BC support could well disperse Co₃O₄ particles. The degradation of CAP (30 mg/L) was enhanced in the Co₃O₄-BC/PMS system with the apparent degradation rate constant increased to 5.1, 19.4 and 7.2 times of that in the Co₃O₄/PMS, BC/PMS and PMS-alone control systems, respectively. Nearly complete removal of CAP was achieved in the Co₃O₄-BC/PMS system under the optimum conditions of 10 wt% Co₃O₄ loading on BC, 0.2 g/L Co₃O₄-BC, 10 mM PMS and pH 7 within 10 min. The Co₃O₄/BC composites had a synergistic effect on the catalytic activity possibly because the conducting BC promoted electron transfer between the Co species and HSO₅^- and thus accelerated the Co³⁺/Co²⁺redox cycle. Additionally, over 85.0 ± 1.5% of CAP was still removed in the 10th run. Although both SO₄^- and OH were identified as the main active species, SO₄^- played a dominant role in CAP degradation. In addition, two other chloramphenicols, i.e., florfenicol (FF) and thiamphenicol (TAP), were also effectively degraded with percentages of 86.4 ± 1.3% and 71.8 ± 1.0%, respectively. This study provides a promising catalyst Co₃O₄-BC to activate PMS for efficient and persistent antibiotics degradation.

The effects of nonredox metal ions on the activation of peroxymonosulfate for organic pollutants degradation in aqueous solution with cobalt based catalysts: A new mechanism investigation

Herein, a new peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation system was proposed employing nonredox metal ions as Lewis acids (LA), which have been widely recognized to play important roles in many biological and chemical oxidations. With Co²⁺ ions as model catalysts, it was found that oxidizing power of PMS was enhanced after binding weak LA such as Ca²⁺ ions, leading to its easier reduction to active radicals and substantial enhancement of dye degradation. The promoting effect of Ca²⁺ was also observed with other cobalt catalysts including CoFe₂O₄ and Co₃O₄. The rate of PMS decomposition in Co²⁺+LA/PMS system was correlated with Lewis acidity; while in the presence of strong LA including La³⁺ and Y³⁺, the dye degradation rate declined. The interactions of LA with PMS were characterized and the detailed mechanism was proposed. The present study provides the first example of the promoting effect of weak LA on PMS activation with cobalt based catalysts.

Core–shell-structured MOF-derived 2D hierarchical nanocatalysts with enhanced Fenton-like activities

The fabricated core–shell-structured MOF-derived 2D nanocatalysts with Co/Co-N_x co-doping N-CNTs enhance Fenton-like activities for the water remediation of benzene-derived contaminants.

Catalytic degradation of organic pollutants in Fe(III)/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system: performance, influencing factors, and pathway

This study demonstrated, for the first time, Fe(III)/peroximonosulphate (PMS) could be an efficient advanced oxidation process (AOP) for wastewater treatment. Bisphenol A (BPA) was chosen as a model pollutant in the present study. Fe(III)-activated PMS system proved very effective to eliminate 92.18% of BPA (20 mg/L) for 30-min reaction time at 0.50 mM PMS, 1.5 g/L Fe(III), pH 7.0. The maximum degradation of BPA occurred at neutral pH, while it was suppressed at both strongly acidic and alkaline conditions. Organic and inorganic ions can interfere with system efficiency either positively or negatively, so their interaction was thoroughly investigated. Furthermore, the presence of organic acids also affected BPA degradation rate, especially the addition of 10 mM citric acid decreased the degradation rate from 92.18 to 66.08%. Radical scavenging experiments showed that SO₄^•- was the dominant reactive species in Fe(III)/PMS system. A total of 5 BPA intermediates were found by using LC/MS. A possible degradation pathway was proposed which underwent through bridge cleavage and hydroxylation processes. Acute toxicity of the BPA degradation products was assessed using Escherichia coli growth inhibition test. These findings proved to be promising and economical to deal with wastewater using iron mineral for the elimination of organic pollutants. Graphical abstract.

Surface Assistant Charge Separation in PEC Cu2S-Ni/Cu2O Cathode

Fabrication of a high efficiency photocathode is a challenging issue in photoelectrocatalysis (PEC). In this work, a Cu₂S-Ni/Cu₂O photocathode was constructed via electrodeposition followed by a two-step overlayer deposition procedure including direct-current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) and ion exchange reaction. We found that the presence of Ni in the inner-layer could not only affect the morphology but also enhance the formation rate of the outer-layer Cu₂S. The XPS results indicate that the Ni exist as NiO_x instead of Ni⁰. The photocurrent of Cu₂S-Ni/Cu₂O achieved 2 times of it on the pristine Cu₂O. The charge dynamic characterizations, including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), Tafel slopes, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, demonstrated that the Ni can promote the hydrogen evolution reaction follow the Heyrovsky reaction, while Cu₂S shows a crucial role on the surface charge separation. At last, surface photovoltage microscopy (SPVM) technology was used to reveal the function of each overlayer. It gives direct evidence for the charge transportation pathway in the system and explains the function of each component.

Degradation of triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) by CoFe2O4-activated peroxymonosulfate oxidation process: Kinetics, pathways, and mechanisms

The aryl organophosphate flame retardant triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) has been frequently detected in environment and biota, and the potential risks of TPhP to aquatic organisms have also been demonstrated. The degradation of TPhP by CoFe₂O₄ activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS) was studied in this work. At initial pH of 7.0, 10 μM TPhP could be removed by 99.5% with 0.25 g/L CoFe₂O₄ and 0.5 mM PMS after 6 min oxidation, indicating the excellent performance of CoFe₂O₄ activated PMS process on the treatment of TPhP. The influence of PMS and CoFe₂O₄ dosage, initial pH, humic acid (HA), and anions (Cl^-, NO₃^-, and HCO₃^-) on TPhP degradation were investigated systematically. Results showed that the degradation of TPhP was enhanced with increasing PMS concentrations from 0.1 to 1 mM, while it reduced as CoFe₂O₄ dosage increased. TPhP degradation efficiencies depended on solution pH with neutral pH showing the optimum degradation conditions. Recycling experiment indicated that the CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) possessed high potential for reusability. The radical identification experiments were performed and SO₄•^- was confirmed as the dominant radicals in TPhP degradation, and activation mechanism of PMS by CoFe₂O₄ NPs was hence explained. Humic acids (HA) (2-20 mg/L) as the representative organic natural matter existing in environment inhibited TPhP removal. Anions including Cl^-, NO₃^-, and HCO₃^- all reduced TPhP degradation. In addition, TPhP degradation products were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the degradation pathways of TPhP were proposed accordingly.

Electrochemical activation of peroxymonosulfate with ACF cathode: Kinetics, influencing factors, mechanism, and application potential

The combination of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and electrolysis with an activated carbon fiber (ACF) as cathode (E-ACF-PMS) was systematically investigated. A synergistic effect was observed in the E-ACF-PMS process. Compared with the E-ACF-PDS process, the E-ACF-PMS process spent one-third as much energy for elimination of carbamazepine (CBZ). Increased PMS concentration, current density, and pH value significantly enhanced CBZ elimination. It was also noted that the presence of phosphate (PO₄^3-), bicarbonate (HCO₃^-), and humic acid (HA) inhibited CBZ removal, while the presence of chloride ion (Cl^-) accelerated it. According to radical scavenging experiments and the estimation of relative contribution, reactive oxygen species oxidation (including OH, SO₄^•-, and ¹O₂) played an important role in CBZ degradation, accounting for 75.67%. We systematically explored the production mechanism for ¹O₂ and the results demonstrated that ¹O₂ was mainly generated on the cathode, rather than generated by O₂^•- or O₂ reported by other researchers. Possible degradation pathways for CBZ in E-ACF-PMS process were also proposed. Finally, the potential for practical applications was explored and compared with E-ACF-PDS. The results of SEM images, BET, and nitrogen adsorption isotherm before and after ACF reuse for 50 times suggested that ACF could maintain its adsorption capacity and catalytic ability in the E-ACF-PMS process. Testing also suggested that the protection of ACF in electrochemical oxidation was based on its relatively high current intensity and removal efficiency. The removal efficiencies of other organic pollutants, including nitrobenzene (NB), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), diclofenac (DC), and tetracycline (TC) were also evaluated. In addition, experiments were conducted to study the effects of different water matrices and toxicology implications and results demonstrated that substituting PMS for PDS in an E-ACF system could create a more efficient, sustainable, and with less secondary toxicity process for wastewater treatment.

Oxidative removal of carbamazepine by peroxymonosulfate (PMS) combined to ionizing radiation: Degradation, mineralization and biological toxicity

Carbamazepine is one of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and has been widely used to treat depression and seizures, and it cannot be effectively removed during the conventional wastewater treatment processes. In this study, three processes were used for the carbamazepine degradation, including single radiation, radiation in the presence of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and radiation followed by PMS oxidation. The results show that radiation in the presence of PMS could enhance the degradation and mineralization of carbamazepine, decreasing the absorbed dose required for completely degrading carbamazepine from 800 Gy to 300 Gy, no matter what the molar ratio of PMS to carbamazepine was. The radiation followed by PMS oxidation significantly increased the mineralization, and the maximum mineralization achieved 46.5% at the dose of 600 Gy. Eight intermediates were tentatively identified. Compared to single radiation process, the radiation in the presence of PMS enhanced the transformation of intermediates and the release of ammonium ion. In real wastewater, the radiation in the presence of PMS could effectively remove carbamazepine and considerably decreased the biological toxicity of the wastewater containing carbamazepine.

Assessment of Sulfate Radical-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes for Water and Wastewater Treatment: A Review

High oxidation potential as well as other advantages over other tertiary wastewater treatments have led in recent years to a focus on the development of advanced oxidation processes based on sulfate radicals (SR-AOPs). These radicals can be generated from peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and persulfate (PS) through various activation methods such as catalytic, radiation or thermal activation. This review manuscript aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the different methods for PS and PMS activaton, as well as the different applications of this technology in the field of water and wastewater treatment. Although its most widespread application is the elimination of micropollutants, its use for the disinfection of wastewater is gaining increasing interest. In addition, the possibility of combining this technology with ultrafiltration membranes to improve the water quality and lifespan of the membranes has also been discussed. Finally, a brief economic analysis of this technology has been undertaken and the different attempts made to implement it at full-scale have been summarized. As a result, this review tries to be useful for all those people working in that area.