Comparison of UV/hydrogen peroxide and UV/peroxydisulfate processes for the degradation of humic acid in the presence of halide ions

Degrading surface-water-based natural organic matter and mitigating haloacetonitrile formation during chlorination: Comparison of UV/persulfate and UV/hydrogen peroxide pre-treatments

Haloacetonitriles (HANs) are unregulated disinfection by-products that are more toxic than regulated species. Therefore, efficient decomposition of HAN precursors prior to disinfection is crucial for allaying the potential HAN-induced health risks. This study investigated the key roles of ultraviolet-activated persulfate (UV/PS) treatment in alleviating HAN formation. The effects of UV/PS treatment were evaluated by correlating with the characteristics of organic matter in surface water and comparing with conventional UV/H2O2 treatment. Upon irradiating raw water samples and a Suwannee River humic acid solution spiked with 10 mM PS or H2O2 with 254 nm UV light, UV/PS treatment was found to be more potent than UV/H2O2 in mitigating the HAN production and degrading organic substances; moreover, UV/PS treatment effectively decreased the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) content. In contrast, UV/H2O2 treatment did not induce any noticeable reduction in DON level. Furthermore, both UV/PS and UV/H2O2 treatments reduced the dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) formation potential (FP), leading to strong correlations with the degradation of aromatic and humic-acid-like compounds. Notably, UV/PS treatment efficiently decreased the FP of bromochloroacetonitrile (BCAN) and dramatically reduced that of dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN) after a sharp increase; however, UV/H2O2 treatment gradually increased the DBAN-FP. Bromide was activated by sulfate radicals during UV/PS treatment, negatively correlating with the BCAN-FP and DBAN-FP, indicating that the formation of reactive bromine species increased the DBAN-FP; however, excessive oxidation possibly led to the recovery of inorganic bromine for decreasing the BCAN-FP and DBAN-FP. Additionally, UV/PS treatment effectively suppressed toxicity owing to its high reduction rate for brominated HANs; in contrast, UV/H2O2 treatment resulted in less significant BCAN and DBAN reductions, leading to minimal net reduction in toxicity. Overall, UV/PS treatment was remarkably effective at diminishing the toxicity of brominated HANs, underscoring its potential to mitigate drinking-water-related health risks.

Effect of UV/peroxymonosulfate pretreatment on disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation during post-chlorination of humic acid

UV/peroxymonosulfate (UV/PMS) is a promising advanced oxidation technology in water treatment. This study aimed to investigate the impact of UV/PMS on humic acid (HA) and the influence of PMS dosage, pretreatment time, pH pretreatment, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, and bicarbonate influencing factors on disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation during post-chlorination. With increased PMS dosage or pretreatment time, the UV/PMS treatment significantly reduced ultraviolet absorbance and increased mineralization. It altered the fractional constituent as humic substances were gradually transformed into building blocks and low-molecular-weight acids. However, most DBP formation increased initially and then decreased after subsequent chlorination. Rising nitrate or nitrite concentrations markedly promoted halonitromethane (HNM) formation. The presence of ammonia had a more significant impact on dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN) formation. Bicarbonate in UV/PMS pretreatment increased carbonated disinfection byproduct (C-DBP) formation, whereas it had a negligible impact on nitrogenous disinfection byproduct (N-DBP) formation. The present study revealed the impact of a series of influencing factors on DBP formation in UV/PMS reaction systems, providing comprehensive insights on applying UV/PMS in actual practice.

Selective degradation of antibiotic in a novel Cu7S4/peroxydisulfate system via heterogeneous Cu(III) formation: Performance, mechanism and toxicity evaluation

Efficient degradation of antibiotic by peroxydisulfate (PDS)-based advanced oxidation processes in complex water environment is challenging due to the interference of impurities and the low activation efficiency of PDS caused by its symmetric structure. Herein, a novel Cu₇S₄/PDS system was developed, which can selectively remove tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) without interference of inorganic ions (e.g., Cl^- and HCO₃^-) and natural organic matter (e.g., humic acid). The results of quenching and probe experiments demonstrated that surface high-valent copper species (Cu(III)), rather than radicals and ¹O₂, are main active species for TC degradation. Cu(III) can be generated via Cu(I)/O₂ and Cu(II)/Cu(I)/PDS systems and the S species on the surface of Cu₇S₄ promotes the cycle of Cu(II)/Cu(I) and Cu(III)/Cu(II), resulting in continuous generation of Cu(III). In addition, the degradation pathways of TC were proposed based on product analysis and DFT theory calculations. The acute toxicity, developmental toxicity and mutagenicity of treated TC were significantly reduced according to the results of toxicity estimation software tool. This study shows a promising Cu₇S₄/PDS system for the degradation and detoxication of antibiotic in complex water environment, while also providing a comprehensive understanding of PDS activation by Cu₇S₄ to generate active Cu(III) species.

Biosynthesis of MnFe2O4@TiO2 magnetic nanocomposite using oleaster tree bark for efficient photocatalytic degradation of humic acid in aqueous solutions

The presence of humic acid compounds in water resources, as one of the precursors of Trihalomethanes and Holoacetic acids, causes health problems for many communities. The aim of this research study was to investigate the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of humic acid using MnFe₂O₄@TiO₂ nanoparticles which produced by green synthesis method. The synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts and the study of their catalytic performance is a relatively new topic. Many chemical techniques have been proposed for the synthesis of MnFe₂O₄@TiO₂ nanoparticles, but green synthesis has received much attention due to its availability, simplicity, and non-toxicity. The properties of synthesized nanoparticles were determined by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, EDS, and DLS analysis. The results of the study showed that under optimal experimental conditions (pH = 3, nanocomposite dose = 0.03 g/L, humic acid initial concentration = 2 mg/L, and contact time = 20 min), it is possible to achieve maximum degradation of humic acid. Therefore; MnFe₂O₄@TiO₂ nanoparticles have high efficiency for removing of humic acid from aqueous solutions under UV light.

Ultraviolet light-activated peroxymonosulfate (UV/PMS) system for humic acid mineralization: Effects of ionic matrix and feasible application in seawater reverse osmosis desalination

The use of membrane-based technology has evolved into an important strategy for supplying freshwater from seawater and wastewater to overcome the problems of water scarcity around the world. However, the presence of natural organic matter (NOM), including humic substances affects the performance of the process. Here, we present a systematic report on the mineralization of humic acid (HA), as a model for NOM, in high concentration of salts using the ultraviolet light-activated peroxymonosulfate (UV/PMS) system as a potential alternative for HA elimination during membrane-based seawater desalination and water treatment processes. Effects of various parameters such as PMS concentration, solution type, pH, anions, and anion-cation matrix on HA mineralization were assessed. The results show that 100%, 78% and 58% of HA (2 mg/L TOC) were mineralized with rate constants of 0.085 min^-1, 0.0073 min^-1, and 0.0041 min^-1 after 180 min reaction time at pH 7 when 0.5 mM PMS was used in deionized water, sodium chloride solution (35,000 ppm) and synthetic seawater, respectively. The reduced efficiency under saline conditions was attributed to the presence of anions in the system that acted as sulfate and hydroxyl radicals' scavengers. Furthermore, the safety of the treated synthetic seawater was evaluated by analyzing the residual transformed products. Overall, pretreatment with the UV/PMS system mitigated fouling on the RO membrane.

Use of an ultraviolet light-activated persulfate process to degrade humic substances: effects of wavelength and persulfate dose

Natural organic matter (NOM), commonly found in surface and ground waters, form disinfection by-products in drinking water. Generally, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) featuring hydrogen peroxide are used to treat water; however, sulfate radical recently has been used to treat recalcitrant organics, because it is associated with a higher oxidation potential and more effective removal than hydroxyl radicals. Hence, in this research, we evaluated persulfate oxidation efficiency in terms of reductions in humic substance levels and investigated the degradation mechanism. The results showed that ultraviolet-activated persulfate effectively treated humic substances compared with hydrogen peroxide and direct irradiation. Treatment was dose and wavelength dependent; higher persulfate concentrations or shorter UV wavelengths were more effective for treating humic substances as high concentration sulfate radicals were created. The degradation mechanism was similar to that of hydrogen peroxide. Aromatic and chromophore components were more susceptible to degradation than were lower molecular weight components, being initially decomposed into the latter, reducing UV₂₅₄ absorbance and the SUVA₂₅₄. Lower molecular weight materials were eventually degraded to end products: NPOC levels fell. And we also treated the inflow of a drinking water treatment plant with persulfate, and humic substances were effectively removed.

Insights into the effects of bromide at fresh water levels on the radical chemistry in the UV/peroxydisulfate process

Bromide (Br^-) is a typical scavenger to sulfate radical (SO₄^•-) and hydroxyl radical (HO^•), which simultaneously forms secondary reactive bromine species (RBS) such as Br^• and Br₂^•-. This study investigated the effects of Br^- at fresh water levels (~μM) on the radical chemistry in the UV/peroxydisulfate (UV/PDS) process by combining the degradation kinetics of probe compounds (nitrobenzene, metronidazole, and benzoate) with kinetic model. Br^- at 1 - 50 μM promoted the conversion from SO₄^•- to HO^• and RBS in the UV/PDS process. At pH 7, the concentration of SO₄^•- monotonically decreased by 31.5 - 94.8% at 1 - 50 μM Br^-, while that of HO^• showed an increasing and then decreasing pattern, with a maximum increase by 171.7% at 5 μM Br^-. The concentrations of Br^• and Br₂^•- (10^-12 - 10^-10 M) were 2 - 3 orders of magnitude higher than SO₄^•- and HO^•. Alkaline condition promoted the conversion from SO₄^•- to HO^•, and drove the transformation from RBS to HO^•, resulting in much lower concentrations of RBS at pH 10. Br^- at 1 μM and 5 μM decreased the pseudo-first-order reaction rates (k's) of 15 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by 15.2 - 73.9%, but increased k's of naproxen and ibuprofen by 13.7 - 57.3% at pH 7. The co-existence of 10 - 1000 μM Cl^- with 5 μM Br^- further promoted the conversion from SO₄^•- to HO^• compared to Br^- alone. Bicarbonate consumed SO₄^•- and HO^• but slightly affected RBS, while natural organic matter (NOM) exerted scavenging effects on HO^• and RBS more significantly than SO₄^•-. This study demonstrated that Br^- at fresh water levels significantly altered the radical chemistry of the UV/PDS process, especially for promoting the formation of HO^•.

The Role of Sulphate and Phosphate Ions in the Recovery of Benzoic Acid Self-Enhanced Ozonation in Water Containing Bromides

The ozonation of aromatic compounds in low-pH water is ineffective. In an acidic environment, the decomposition of ozone into hydroxyl radicals is limited and insufficient for the degradation of organic pollutants. Radical processes are also strongly inhibited by halogen ions present in the reaction medium, especially at low pH. It was shown that even under such unfavorable conditions, some compounds can initiate radical chain reactions leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals, thus accelerating the ozonation process, which is referred to as so-called “self-enhanced ozonation”. This paper presents the effect of bromides on “self-enhanced ozonation” of benzoic acid (BA) at pH 2.5. It is the first report to fully and quantitatively describe this process. The presence of only 15 µM bromides in water inhibits ozone decomposition and completely blocks BA degradation. However, the effectiveness of this process can be regained by ozonation in the presence of phosphates or sulphate. The addition of these inorganic salts to the bromide-containing solution helps to recover ozone decomposition and BA degradation efficiency. As part of this research, the fractions of hydroxyl, sulphate and phosphate radicals reacting with benzoic acid and bromides were calculated.

Elimination of humic acid in water: comparison of UV/PDS and UV/PMS

Humic substances are polyelectrolytic macromolecules; their presence in water leads to many environmental problems without effective treatment. In this work, the elimination of humic acid (HA), a typical humic substance, has been examined through ultraviolet (UV) activation systems in the presence of peroxydisulfate (PDS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS), respectively. The results indicated that 92.9% and 97.1% of HA were eliminated with rate constants of 0.0328 ± 0.0006 and 0.0436 ± 0.0011 min⁻¹ with 180 and 60 min treatment times at pH 6 and 3 when adding 3 and 1 mmol L⁻¹ oxidant during UV/PDS and UV/PMS, respectively; the corresponding electric energies per order were 0.0287 and 0.0131 kW h m⁻³. The HA removal was systematically investigated by varying different reaction parameters, including radical scavengers, persulphate dose, solution pH, and initial HA concentration, and by addition of various common ions. Moreover, the decomposition details were identified through the changes in the dissolved organic carbon, unique UV absorbances, and UV spectroscopic ratios. Furthermore, the destruction mechanism was verified by fluorescence spectroscopy, demonstrating that the HA structure was decomposed to small molecular fractions in the two UV/persulphate systems. In addition, the purification of HA by the two UV/persulphate processes was assessed in actual water matrices.

In this work, UV-activated persulphate treatment (UV/PDS and UV/PMS) was found to be an effective method for HA removal.

The practical utility of the synthesis FeNi3@SiO2@TiO2 magnetic nanoparticles as an efficient photocatalyst for the humic acid degradation

Humic acid (HA) compounds in drinking water and wastewater disinfection processes are viewed as precursors of highly toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic disinfection by-product chemicals. In recent times, these compounds have gained considerable attention of scientists for their successful removal from aqueous solutions to permissible limits. To achieve this aim, the present study investigated, for the first time, the photocatalytical performance of the synthesis FeNi₃@SiO₂@TiO₂ nanoparticles for the HA degradation under different environmental conditions. The photocatalytic reactions were performed using ultraviolet (UV) radiation, whose intensity was fixed at 2500 μW/cm² throughout the experimental study. The characterization study performed, using specific diagnostic techniques, revealed the presence of several good morphological, magnetic, and catalytic specifications of the synthesized nanoparticles. The use of the simplified form of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation sufficiently describes the experimental data of the HA kinetic degradation, as it shows a high coefficient of regression values. Furthermore, the complete HA degradation was reached under conditions of pH = 3; initial HA concentration = 10 mg/L; FeNi₃@SiO₂@TiO₂ nanoparticles dosage = 0.01 g/L; and reaction time >30 min. Thus, the results obtained from this research suggested that the catalyst of FeNi₃@SiO₂@TiO₂ nanoparticles was an attractive, novel, and effective agent, which could be used for the degradation of HA in the photocatalytic processes.

Complete mineralization of a humic acid by SO4 ·- generated on CoMoO4/gC3N4 under visible-light irradiation

The sulfate radical ([Formula: see text]), almost a most active species, is believed to be the best oxidant in the elimination of aquatic organics in advanced oxidation processes. However, acquiring their steady-state generation with high concentration is still challenging work. In this report, we focused on designing a novel composite, in which uniform and rod-like CoMoO₄ was fabricated on gC₃N₄ through Co-N coordination. In this way, the composite acquired an immobilization of Co (II) in its refraining from leaking, and synchronically, a dense heterojunction between CoMoO₄ and gC₃N₄. Over the heterojunctions, photogenerated electrons gained a prolonged lifetime through their efficient separation from holes. The life-prolonged electrons, together with Co (II) in CoMoO₄, effectively activated the persulfate, and a concentration of steady-state [Formula: see text] as high as 1.8 × 10^-14 mol · l^-1 was obtained. With [Formula: see text] fast and complete mineralization of a humic acid was achieved.

Efficient degradation of tetracycline by ultraviolet-based activation of peroxymonosulfate and persulfate

In this study, the difference in oxidative capacity for removing antibiotics and the mechanism between the Cu(II)/peroxymonosulfate (PMS)/UV and Cu(II)/persulfate (PDS)/UV systems were compared under various conditions. The optimal Cu(II) concentration in the Cu(II)/PMS/UV system was 30 μM, and in the Cu(II)/PDS/UV system was 50 μM. With the PMS or PDS concentration increasing, higher tetracycline (TC) degradation in these two systems occurred. Investigation on the mechanism revealed that •OH was the primary radical in the Cu(II)/PMS/UV system, while SO₄ ^-• was the primary radical in the Cu(II)/PDS/UV system where •OH also played an important role. In these two systems, it was observed that Cu(I) was generated by PMS or PDS activated via UV illumination; however, oxygen alone could not promote TC removal. The degradation of TC was increased with the increasing pH level. In addition, TC degradation in the Cu(II)/PMS/UV system followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics model during the entire reaction period. It was found that the TC degradation kinetics in the Cu(II)/PDS/UV system can be divided into two parts (0 to 7 min and 10 to 50 min) and these two parts had good agreement with the pseudo-first-order kinetics model, respectively.

Optimization and mechanism of Acid Orange 7 removal by powdered activated carbon coupled with persulfate by response surface method

In this study, powder activated carbon (PAC) utilized to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) was investigated for decolorization of Acid Orange 7 (AO7). The results indicated a remarkable synergistic effect in the PAC/PDS system. The effect of PAC, PDS dosages and initial pH on AO7 decolorization were studied and the processes followed first-order kinetics. Response surface method with central composite design (CCD) model was utilized to optimize these three factors and analyze the combined interaction. The optimum condition for the decolorization rate of AO7 was analyzed as the following: PAC (0.19 g/L), PDS (1.64 g/L), and initial pH (4.14). Cl^- and SO₄ ^2- showed a promoting effect on AO7 decolorization while HCO₃ ^- had a slightly inhibiting effect. Quenching experiments confirmed that both sulfate and hydroxyl radicals were the oxidizing species, and the oxidation reaction occurred on the surface of PAC. The results of UV-vis spectrum with 100% decolorization rate and the 50% total organic carbon reduction indicated highly efficient decolorization and mineralization of AO7 in the PAC/PDS system. Finally, the recovery performance of PAC was studied and the result indicated PAC had poor reuse in reactivity.

Comparison of the UV/chlorine and UV/H2O2 processes in the degradation of PPCPs in simulated drinking water and wastewater: Kinetics, radical mechanism and energy requirements

The degradation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) by the UV/H₂O₂ and UV/chlorine processes was compared at practical concentrations in simulated drinking water and wastewater. In pure water, the UV/chlorine process performed better than the UV/H₂O₂ process for the degradation of 16 PPCPs among the investigated 28 PPCPs under neutral conditions. Interestingly, the UV/chlorine approach was superior to the UV/H₂O₂ approach for the removal of all PPCPs in simulated drinking water and wastewater at the same molar oxidant dosage. The radical sink by oxidants and/or H₂O was 2-3 orders of magnitude higher in UV/chlorine than UV/H₂O₂ in pure water. Thus, the UV/chlorine process was less affected by the water and wastewater matrices than UV/H₂O₂. In UV/chlorine, the concentration of ClO^• was calculated to be ∼3 orders of magnitude greater than that of HO^• in pure water, and the reactivities of ClO^• with some PPCPs were as high as > 10⁸ M^-1 s^-1. ClO^• was mainly scavenged by the effluent organic matter (EfOM) with a rate constant of 1.8 × 10⁴ (mg L^-1)^-1 s^-1 in wastewater. Meanwhile, secondary radicals such as Br^•, Br₂^•-, ClBr^•- and CO₃^•- further contributed to PPCP degradation by the UV/chlorine process in wastewater, whose concentrations were at least 2 orders of magnitude higher than that in UV/H₂O₂. Compared with the UV/H₂O₂ process, the UV/chlorine process saved 3.5-93.5% and 19.1%-98.1% electrical energy per order (EE/O) for PPCP degradation in simulated drinking water and wastewater, respectively.

Phosphate helps to recover from scavenging effect of chloride in self-enhanced ozonation

Self-enhanced ozonation is a new approach for generation of hydroxyl radicals at low pH. Unfortunately at acidic environment chloride effectively scavenges the radicals. Therefore, the presence of chloride in ozonated medium would be detrimental for the most of the process practical applications. In self-enhanced ozonation process almost complete degradation of aromatics is observed during first 10min. Addition of 3.22 mM of chloride completely hinders degradation of nitrobenzene (NB) or benzoic acid (BA). This work shows that the scavenging effect of chlorides may be overcome with an excess of phosphate. Addition of 50 mM of phosphates to ozonated water brings back 74% removal of NB or 87% of BA, when 24 μM of compound is ozonated in the presence of 3.22 mM chloride during 60min. The excess of phosphate sufficient to overcome the scavenging activity of chloride in the self-enhanced ozonation of aromatic compounds at acidic pH is much lower than that implied by the reaction rates of both ions with hydroxyl radicals. To the best of our knowledge the recovering effect of phosphate has not been shown before.

Halogen Radical Oxidants in Natural and Engineered Aquatic Systems

Photochemical reactions contribute to the transformation of contaminants and biogeochemically important substrates in environmental aquatic systems. Recent research has demonstrated that halogen radicals (e.g., Cl^•, Br^•, Cl₂^•-, BrCl^•-, Br₂^•-) impact photochemical processes in sunlit estuarine and coastal waters rich in halides (e.g., chloride, Cl^-, and bromide, Br^-). In addition, halogen radicals participate in contaminant degradation in some engineered processes, including chlorine photolysis for drinking water treatment and several radical-based processes for brine and wastewater treatment. Halogen radicals react selectively with substrates (with bimolecular rate constants spanning several orders of magnitude) and via several potential chemical mechanisms. Consequently, their role in photochemical processes remains challenging to assess. This review presents an integrative analysis of the chemistry of halogen radicals and their contribution to aquatic photochemistry in sunlit surface waters and engineered treatment systems. We evaluate existing data on the generation, speciation, and reactivity of halogen radicals, as well as experimental and computational approaches used to obtain this data. By evaluating existing data and identifying major uncertainties, this review provides a basis to assess the impact of halogen radicals on photochemical processes in both saline surface waters and engineered treatment systems.

Impact of Chloride Ions on UV/H2O2 and UV/Persulfate Advanced Oxidation Processes

Chloride ion (Cl^-) is one of the most common anions in the aqueous environment. A mathematical model was developed to determine and quantify the impact of Cl^- on the oxidization rate of organic compounds at the beginning stage of the UV/persulfate (PS) and UV/H₂O₂ processes. We examined two cases for the UV/PS process: (1) when the target organic compounds react only with sulfate radicals, the ratio of the destruction rate of the target organic compound when Cl^- is present to the rate when Cl^- is not present (designated as r_R^Cl-/ r_R) is no larger than 1.942%; and (2) when the target organic compounds can react with sulfate radicals, hydroxyl radicals and chlorine radicals, r_R^Cl-/ r_R, can be no larger than 60%. Hence, Cl^- significantly reduces the organic destruction rate in the UV/PS process. In the UV/H₂O₂ process, we found that Cl^- has a negligible effect on the organic-contaminant oxidation rate. Our simulation results agree with the experimental results very well. Accordingly, our mathematical model is a reliable method for determining whether Cl^- will adversely impact organic compounds destruction by the UV/PS and UV/H₂O₂ processes.

Applying ultraviolet/persulfate (UV/PS) pre-oxidation for controlling ultrafiltration membrane fouling by natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water

Membrane fouling is a recognized obstacle for the application of ultrafiltration (UF) for drinking water treatment. In this study, ultraviolet/persulfate (UV/PS) oxidation was employed as a pretreatment to control membrane fouling caused by natural organic matter (NOM) in surface water. The effects of UV/PS pretreatment on amounts and characteristics of NOM were investigated in terms of dissolved organic carbon, fluorescent spectrum, molecular weight distribution and hydrophobicity. UF membrane fouling during filtration of raw and pre-oxidized water was compared with transmembrane pressure development, and the fouled membranes were further characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results indicate that NOM was considerably degraded and partially mineralized (∼58%) by UV/PS pretreatment at a PS dose not exceeding 0.6 mM and a UV irradiation time within 120 min, which was attributed to the generation of sulfate and hydroxyl radicals. The fluorescent compounds in NOM were almost completely degraded (>98%) by the UV/PS pretreatment at a PS dose of 0.4 mM, except for tyrosine-like proteins (∼80%). Moreover, UV/PS pretreatment decreased the ratio of macromolecular compounds and increased the hydrophilic fractions, resulting in reduced NOM adhesion to the membrane. Hence, irreversible fouling by NOM was significantly retarded (∼75%) by the UV/PS pretreatment due to reduction in NOM, and more importantly by preferential degradation of fluorescent, macromolecular and hydrophobic compounds. Fouling control performance was considerably improved at increased PS doses and extended UV irradiation time.

Advanced oxidation processes for the removal of natural organic matter from drinking water sources: A comprehensive review

Natural organic matter (NOM), a key component in aquatic environments, is a complex matrix of organic substances characterized by its fluctuating amounts in water and variable molecular and chemical properties, leading to various interaction schemes with the biogeosphere and hydrologic cycle. These factors, along with the increasing amounts of NOM in surface and ground waters, make the effort of removing naturally-occurring organics from drinking water supplies, and also from municipal wastewater effluents, a challenging task requiring the development of highly efficient and versatile water treatment technologies. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) received an increasing amount of attention from researchers around the world, especially during the last decade. The related processes were frequently reported to be among the most suitable water treatment technologies to remove NOM from drinking water supplies and mitigate the formation of disinfection by products (DBPs). Thus, the present work overviews recent research and development studies conducted on the application of AOPs to degrade NOM including UV and/or ozone-based applications, different Fenton processes and various heterogeneous catalytic and photocatalytic oxidative processes. Other non-conventional AOPs such as ultrasonication, ionizing radiation and plasma technologies were also reported. Furthermore, since AOPs are unlikely to achieve complete oxidation of NOM, integration schemes with other water treatment technologies were presented including membrane filtration, adsorption and others processes.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate by surfactants as the metal-free catalysts for organic contaminant removal

The present work described that tertiary ammonium surfactants containing bromide ion as novel metal-free catalysts were innovatively coupled with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to build a simple catalytic oxidation system, possessing outstanding catalytic ability with organic dye Reactive Red M-3BE (RR M-3BE) as the target pollutant. Furthermore, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a representative of cationic surfactant, was selected to further investigate the catalytic oxidation performance. It is found that at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of CTAB, the oxidation efficiency of the CTAB/PMS system was optimal due to the strong electrostatic attraction between the CTA⁺ micelle and reactive anions (Br^- and HSO₅^-), concentrating HSO₅^- and Br^- at the micellar surface, which accelerated the catalytic oxidation reaction between Br^- and HSO₅^-, generating a mass of highly active reactive species. A hybrid method that combined radical scavenger (methanol) with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technology was adopted for the investigation of reactive species, and the results indicated that hydroxyl radical (•OH) was generated and had a major role in the process. The findings from this work provide a practicable pathway for highly efficient PMS activation in wastewater treatment, and also initiate a promising research area of surfactants in the field of environmental catalysis.

Heat-activated persulfate oxidation of methyl- and ethyl-parabens: Effect, kinetics, and mechanism

We evaluated the degradation of methylparaben (MeP) and ethylparaben (EtP), two representative parabens, using the heat-activated persulfate system in a laboratory. Both sulfate and hydroxyl radicals contributed to the removal of the two parabens. The degradations of both MeP and EtP were improved by increasing the heating temperature or persulfate dose in accordance with a pseudo-first-order reaction model. The oxidation efficiency of parabens was found to be pH-dependent; decreasing in the order pH 5.0 > 7.0 > 9.0. The presence of chloride, bicarbonate, or humic acid was found to inhibit the degradation of the two parabens to some extent because of competition for the reactive radicals, with humic acid having the most serious effect. Dealkylation of the methyl unit, decarboxylation of the carboxylic group, and subsequent hydrolysis are proposed to be involved in the degradation pathway of MeP. The results suggest that the heat-activated persulfate system might be efficiently applied in the treatment of paraben-containing water samples. This was also supported by the results of applying this system to treat a real water sample containing both MeP and EtP.

Factors affecting formation of deethyl and deisopropyl products from atrazine degradation in UV/H2O2 and UV/PDS

Formation of deethyl products (DEPs) (i.e., atrazine amide and deethylatrazine) and deisopropyl product (i.e., deisopropylatrazine (DIA)) from parent atrazine (ATZ) degraded in UV/H₂O₂ and UV/PDS processes under various conditions was monitored.

A sulfate radical based ferrous–peroxydisulfate oxidative system for indomethacin degradation in aqueous solutions

The degradation of indomethacin (IM) by ferrous ion-activated potassium peroxydisulfate (Fe²⁺/PDS) was investigated.

Activated carbon fiber for heterogeneous activation of persulfate: implication for the decolorization of azo dye

Activated carbon fiber (ACF) was used as a green catalyst to activate persulfate (PS) for oxidative decolorization of azo dye. ACF demonstrated a higher activity than activated carbon (AC) to activate PS to decolorize Orange G (OG). The decolorization efficiency of OG increased as ACF loading, PS dosage, and temperature increased. OG decolorization followed a pseudo first-order kinetics, and the activation energy was 40.902 kJ/mol. pH had no apparent effect on OG decolorization. Radical quenching experiments with various radical scavengers (e.g., alcohols, phenol) showed that radical-induced decolorization of OG took place on the surface of ACF, and both SO4 (·-) and HO· were responsible for OG decolorization. The impact of inorganic salts was also evaluated because they are important compositions of dye wastewater. Cl(-) and SO4 (2-) exhibited a promoting effect on OG decolorization, and the accelerating rate increased with elevating dosage of ions. Addition of Cl(-) and SO4 (2-) could increase the adsorption of OG on ACF surface, thus favorable for OG decolorization caused by the surface-bound SO4 (·-) and HO·. Conversely, HCO3 (-) and humic acid (HA) slightly inhibited OG decolorization. The azo band and naphthalene ring on OG were remarkably destructed to other intermediates and finally mineralized to CO2 and H2O.

The treatment of phenolic contaminants from shale gas drilling wastewater: a comparison with UV-Fenton and modified UV-Fenton processes at neutral pH

In this study, the treatment efficiency of phenolic contaminants from drilling wastewater was evaluated with three different UV-Fenton processes.