Catalytic ozonation of chloramphenicol with manganese-copper oxides/maghemite in solution: Empirical kinetics model, degradation pathway, catalytic mechanism, and antibacterial activity

Harnessing the power of natural minerals: A comprehensive review of their application as heterogeneous catalysts in advanced oxidation processes for organic pollutant degradation

The release of untreated wastewater into water bodies has become a significant environmental concern, resulting in the accumulation of refractory organic pollutants that pose risks to human health and ecosystems. Wastewater treatment methods, including biological, physical, and chemical techniques, have limitations in achieving complete removal of the refractory pollutants. Chemical methods, particularly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), have gained special attention for their strong oxidation capacity and minimal secondary pollution. Among the various catalysts used in AOPs, natural minerals offer distinct advantages, such as low cost, abundant resources, and environmental friendliness. Currently, the utilization of natural minerals as catalysts in AOPs lacks thorough investigation and review. This work addresses the need for a comprehensive review of natural minerals as catalysts in AOPs. The structural characteristics and catalytic performance of different natural minerals are discussed, emphasizing their specific roles in AOPs. Furthermore, the review analyzes the influence of process factors, including catalyst dosage, oxidant addition, pH value, and temperature, on the catalytic performance of natural minerals. Strategies for enhancing the catalytic efficiency of AOPs mediated by natural minerals are explored, mainly including physical fields, reductant addition, and cocatalyst utilization. The review also examines the practical application prospects and main challenges associated with the use of natural minerals as heterogeneous catalysts in AOPs. This work contributes to the development of sustainable and efficient approaches for organic pollutant degradation in wastewater.

Advanced treatment of secondary effluent by the integration of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation and biological aerated filter

The advanced treatment of secondary effluents was investigated by employing heterogeneous catalytic ozonation integrated with a biological aerated filter (BAF) process. The results indicated that catalytic ozonation with the prepared catalyst (Mn_xCu_yO_z/γ-Fe₂O₃) significantly enhanced the performance of pollutant removal and broke up macromolecules into molecular substances by the generated hydroxyl radicals. These molecular substances were easily absorbed by microorganisms in the microbial membrane reactor. In the BAF process, chemical oxygen demand (COD) (chemical oxygen demand) decreased from 54.26 to 32.56 mg/L, while in catalytic ozonation coupled with the BAF, COD could be reduced to 14.65 mg/L (removal ratio 73%). Under the same condition, NH₄⁺-N decreased from 77.43 to 22.69 mg/L and 15.73 mg/L (removal ratio 70%) in the BAF and the catalytic ozonation coupled with BAF, respectively. In addition, the model that highly correlated influent COD to effluent COD and reactor height for filler could predict the removal ratio of COD of the BAF system. Based on the microbial community analysis, ozone in the solution had a certain screening effect on microorganisms, which helped to better adapt to the ozone-containing environment. Therefore, the integrated process with its efficient, economic, and sustainable advantages was suitable for the advanced treatment of secondary effluents.

Comparative study of ozonation and ozonation catalyzed by Fe-loaded biochar as catalyst to remove methylene blue from aqueous solution

Ozone-based processes gained much attention in recent years. However, due to low oxidative stability and utilization rate, single ozonation process (SOP) is insufficient for complete mineralization of pollutants. As a result, the single ozonation process is performed in the presence of a catalyst, a process known as catalytic ozonation process (COP). A promising catalyst (Fe/BC) was prepared by impregnating iron on biochar surface to remove methylene blue from aqueous solution via heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process (HCOP). The prepared Fe/BC features were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET) before and after HCOP. Furthermore, the effect of various operating parameters such as ozone dose, catalyst dose, initial dye concentration, initial pH on the efficiency of SOP and HCOP were compared. In comparison to single ozonation process, the experimental study found that heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process has the highest efficiency. At pH 7.0, approximately 76% of methylene blue is removed during single ozonation process in 60 min. Heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process showed 95% methylene blue elimination from aqueous solution. The efficiency of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process was decreased by 52% in the presence of hydroxyl radical (^●OH) scavenger, indicating that hydroxyl is the major oxidant during heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution. Fe/BC catalyst appears to have a lot of industrial promise, as well as the ability to remove methylene blue from aqueous solution via heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process.

Prediction of pharmaceutical and personal care products elimination during heterogeneous catalytic ozonation via chemical kinetic model

Prediction of the removal of pollutants is important for the process design and optimization of wastewater treatment. In this study, the heterogeneous catalytic ozonation chemical kinetic model based on reaction kinetic constants between O₃ (and •OH) and pollutants, and pseudo-first order rate constants for pollutant adsorption was established. The model parameters were obtained via O₃ and p-chlorobenzonic acid decay curves, and adsorption kinetic experiments, respectively. Higher •OH exposures were obtained at the expense of lower O₃ exposures during catalytic ozonation compared to simple ozonation. Importantly, the experimentally measured and model-predicted removal ratios correlated well in all reaction systems, with correlation coefficients above 0.950 in synthetic solution and 0.893-0.979 in secondary effluent. Furthermore, the model revealed that pollutants were degraded mainly by O₃ and/or •OH oxidation during catalytic ozonation, while adsorption of pollutants on catalysts contributed negligibly. Hence, the degradation ratios of pollutants could be satisfactorily predicted using the simplified model based only on the O₃ and •OH exposures in the heterogeneous catalytic ozonation systems with low adsorption capacity catalysts.