Photocatalytic removal of trichloroethylene from water with LaFeO3

Tannic acid promotes the activation of persulfate with Fe(ii) for highly efficient trichloroethylene removal

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) priority pollutant that is difficult to be removed by some remediation methods. For instance, TCE removal using persulfate (PS) activated by ferrous iron (Fe(ii)) has been tested but is limited by the unstable Fe(ii) concentration and the initial pH of contaminated water samples. Here we reported a new TCE removal system, in which tannic acid (TA) promoted the activation of PS with Fe(ii) (TA-Fe(ii)-PS system). The effect of initial pH, temperature, and concentrations of PS, Fe(ii), TA, inorganic anions and humic acid on TCE removal was investigated. We found that the TA-Fe(ii)-PS system with 80 mg L-1 of TA, 1.5 mM of Fe(ii) and 15 mM of PS yielded about 96.2-99.1% TCE removal in the pH range of 1.5-11.0. Radical quenching experiments were performed to identify active species. Results showed that SO4˙- and ˙OH were primarily responsible for TCE removal in the TA-Fe(ii)-PS system. In the presence of TA, the Fe-TA chelation and the reduction of TA could regulate Fe(ii) concentration and activate persulfate for continuously releasing reactive species under alkaline conditions. Based on the excellent removal performance for TCE, the TA-Fe(ii)-PS system becomes a promising candidate for controlling TCE in groundwater.

Research progresses on the application of perovskite in adsorption and photocatalytic removal of water pollutants

The problem of global water pollution and scarcity of water resources is becoming increasingly serious. Multifunctional perovskites can well drive adsorption and photocatalytic reactions to remove water pollutants. There are many advantages of perovskites, such as abundant oxygen vacancies, easily tunable structural morphology, stable crystal state, highly active metal sites, and a wide photo response range. However, there are few reviews on the simultaneous application of perovskite to adsorption and photocatalytic removal of water pollutants. Thus, this paper discusses the preparation methods of perovskite, the factors affecting the adsorption of water environmental pollutants by perovskite, and the factors affecting perovskite photocatalytic water pollutants. The particle size, specific surface area, oxygen vacancies, electron-hole trapping agents, potentials of the valence band, and conduction band in perovskites are significant influencing factors for adsorption and photocatalysis. Strategies for improving the performance of perovskites in the fields of adsorption and photocatalysis are discussed. The adsorption behaviors and catalytic mechanisms are also investigated, including adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, chemical bonding, and photocatalytic mechanism. It summarizes the removal of water pollutants by using perovskites. It provides the design of perovskites as high-efficiency adsorbents and catalysts for developing new technologies.

Preparation of Supported Perovskite Catalyst to Purify Membrane Concentrate of Coal Chemical Wastewater in UV-Catalytic Wet Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidation System

The effective treatment of membrane concentrate is a major technical challenge faced by the new coal chemical industry. In this study, a supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/X was prepared by a sol-impregnation two-step method. The feasibility of the supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/X in the UV-catalytic wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation (UV-CWPO) system for the purification of concentrated liquid of coal chemical wastewater was investigated. The effects of catalyst support, calcination temperature, calcination time, and re-use time on catalytic performance were investigated by batch experiments. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Experimental results showed that the supported perovskite catalyst LaCoO3/CeO2 prepared using CeO2 as support, calcination temperature of 800 °C, and calcination time of 8 h had the best catalytic effect. The catalytic performance of the catalyst remained excellent after seven cycles. The best prepared catalyst was used in UV-CWPO of coal chemical wastewater membrane concentrate. The effects of H2O2 dosage, reaction temperature, reaction pressure, and catalyst dosage on UV-CWPO were determined. Under the conditions of H2O2 dosage of 40 mM, reaction temperature of 120 °C, reaction pressure of 0.5 MPa, catalyst dosage of 1 g/L, pH of 3, and reaction time of 60 min, the removal efficiencies of COD, TOC, and UV254 were 89.7%, 84.6%, and 98.1%, respectively. Under the optimal operating conditions, the oxidized effluent changed from high toxicity to non-toxicity, the BOD5/COD increased from 0.02 to 0.412, and the biodegradability of the oxidized effluent was greatly improved. The catalyst has a simple synthesis procedure, excellent catalytic performance, and great potential in the practical application of coal chemical wastewater treatment.