Coordination-driven Cu-based Fenton-like process for humic acid treatment in wastewater

Bimetallic iron-nickel phosphide as efficient peroxymonosulfate activator for tetracycline hydrochloride degradation: Performance and mechanism

Sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes with (SR-AOPs) are widely employed to degrade organic pollutants due to their high efficiency, cost-effectiveness and safety. In this study, a highly active and stable FeNiP was successfully prepared by reduction and heat treatment. FeNiP exhibited high performance of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) removal. Over a wide pH range, an impressive TC degaradation efficiency 97.86% was achieved within 60 min employing 0.1 g/L FeNiP and 0.2 g/L PMS at room temperature. Both free radicals of SO4·-, ·OH, ·O2- and non-free radicals of 1O2 participated the TC degradation in the FeNiP/PMS system. The PMS activation ability was greatly enhanced by the cycling between Ni and Fe bimetal, and the active site regeneration was achieved due to the existence of the negatively charged Pn-. Moreover, the FeNiP/PMS system exhibited substantial TC degradation levels in both simulated real-world disturbance scenarios and practical water tests. Cycling experiments further affirmed the robust stability of FeNiP catalyst, demonstrating sustained degradation efficiency of approximately 80% even after four cycles. These findings illuminate its promising potential across natural water bodies, presenting an innovative catalyst construction approach for PMS activation in the degradation of antibiotic pollutants.

Iron-doped swine bone char as hydrogen peroxide activator for efficient removal of acetaminophen in water

Bone char is a functional material obtained by calcining animal bones and is widely used for environmental remediation. In this work, iron was inserted into porcine bone-derived bone char via ion exchange to synthesize iron-doped bone char (Fe-BC) for efficient catalysis of hydrogen peroxide. This is the first time that Fe-BC has been used as a catalyst for the activation of H2O2. The effectiveness of the Fe-BC catalyst was influenced by the annealing temperature and the amount of iron doping. The results showed that the activation of H2O2 by the Fe-BC catalyst with the best catalytic performance could achieve 97.6% of APAP degradation within 30 min. Insights from electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), free radical scavenging experiments and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) proposed a reaction mechanism based on free radicals dominated degradation pathways (OH and O2-). Iron served as the primary active site in Fe-BC, with defect sites and oxygen-containing groups in the catalyst also contributing to the removal of pollutants. The Fe-BC/H2O2 system demonstrated resilience to interference from common anions (Cl-, NO3-, SO42- and HCO3-) in water, but was less effective against humic acid (HA). Based on the detection of intermediates produced during APAP degradation, possible degradation pathways of APAP were proposed and the toxicity of intermediates was evaluated. This work provides fresh insights into the use of heterogeneous Fenton catalysts for the removal of organic pollutants from water.

Biosensors for waterborne virus detection: Challenges and strategies

Waterborne viruses that can be harmful to human health pose significant challenges globally, affecting health care systems and the economy. Identifying these waterborne pathogens is essential for preventing diseases and protecting public health. However, handling complex samples such as human and wastewater can be challenging due to their dynamic and complex composition and the ultralow concentration of target analytes. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the latest breakthroughs in waterborne virus biosensors. It begins by highlighting several promising strategies that enhance the sensing performance of optical and electrochemical biosensors in human samples. These strategies include optimizing bioreceptor selection, transduction elements, signal amplification, and integrated sensing systems. Furthermore, the insights gained from biosensing waterborne viruses in human samples are applied to improve biosensing in wastewater, with a particular focus on sampling and sample pretreatment due to the dispersion characteristics of waterborne viruses in wastewater. This review suggests that implementing a comprehensive system that integrates the entire waterborne virus detection process with high-accuracy analysis could enhance virus monitoring. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the effectiveness of waterborne virus detection, which could have significant implications for public health and environmental management.

Use of copper sheet in a solar photo-Fenton-like process applied in the treatment of landfill leachate

It is known that copper can be used as catalyst in photo-Fenton-like process; however, there is a lack of information related with its use in the treatment of landfill leachate (LL) in solar photo-Fenton-like processes. Here, we studied the effect of the mass of a copper sheet, the pH of the solution, and the concentration of LL in the removal of the organic matter present in this water. Before the reaction with landfill leachate, the copper sheet used in the reaction was constituted by Cu⁺ and Cu₂O, respectively. The results showed that in a volume of 0.5 L of a pretreated LL, the higher removal of organic matter resulted using a mass of 2.7 g of the copper sheet, a pH of solution of 5, and a concentration of LL of a 10%, obtaining a final value of C/C₀ of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 0.34, 0.54, 0.66, and 0.84 for concentrations of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively, and 0.0041, 0.0042, 0.0043, and 0.016 for concentration of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively, of C/C₀ of humic acids. The photolysis on LL at its natural pH using solar UV removes very little humic acid and COD, going from 9.4 to 8.5 and 7.7 Abs₂₅₄ for photolysis and UV + H₂O₂, obtaining 8.6 and 17.6% of removal, respectively, and 2.01 and 13.04% removal of COD, respectively. Copper sheet applied under Fenton-like conditions results in 65.9% removal and an increase of 0.2% for humic acid and COD, respectively. Removal using only H₂O₂ for Abs₂₅₄ and COD was 11.95 and 4.3%, respectively. Raw LL produced a 29.1% inhibition of the biological activated sludge rate after the adjustment to pH 7 and the final process of inhibition was 0.23%.

An optimization strategy for photo-Fenton-like catalysts: Based on crystal plane engineering of BiVO4 and electron transfer properties of 0D CQDs

Herein, we report a novel Cu₂(OH)₃ F/CQDs-BiVO₄ composite photo-Fenton-like system, which used BiVO₄ and Cu₂(OH)₃F as electron donor and acceptor, respectively, and achieved efficient electron transfer between them through the electron bridging effect of Carbon quantum dots (CQDs). The material exhibited excellent ciprofloxacin (CIP) removal efficiency in the photo-Fenton-like coupled system. Cu₂(OH)₃ F/CQDs-BiVO₄ had an incredibly fast response rate, eliminating 98.1% of CIP from the solution in just 1 h, according to the reaction kinetics. Exploratory tests proved that the catalyst kept up a sufficient level of activity across a wide pH range of 3-11 and in the presence of various anions. The activity, morphology, and crystal structure of the samples did not appreciably alter after five recycles. Finally, a possible reaction mechanism was also proposed based on the band structure, position and reaction species.

Activation of peroxymonosulfate for degrading ibuprofen via single atom Cu anchored by carbon skeleton and chlorine atom: The radical and non-radical pathways

Single atomic Cu catalysts (SACs Cu@C) anchored by carbon skeleton and chlorine atom was synthesized by hydrolyzing Cu-MOFs and then pickled by aqua-regia to remove Cu nanoparticles (NPs Cu). Comparative characterizations revealed that SACs Cu@C was a hierarchically porous nanostructure and Cu dispersed uniformly throughout the carbon skeletons. With less active components, SACs Cu@C behaved better in activating PMS over NPs Cu@C on ibuprofen removal (91.3 % versus 30.2 % in 30 min). Two Cu coordination environments were found by EXAF and DFT calculation, including four-coordinated Cu with 4C atoms and six-coordinated Cu with 4Cu and 2Cl atoms. The obvious interfacial electron delivery between PMS and SACs Cu@C was found, which was enhanced by Cl atom. Cu(I)/Cu(II) redox cycle would donate electron to peroxy bond of PMS for generating OH, SO₄^- and O₂^-. But electron transferred in opposite direction when PMS bonded to Cu atom through its terminal oxygen atom in sulfate, which formed ¹O₂. IBP degradation proceeded through both radical and non-radical route. IBP degradation was inhibited with the presence of TBA, methanol and furfuryl alcohol but accelerated by p-BQ, which could accelerate OH generation. Two degradation pathways were deducted. This study provided a new insight into catalysts designed for PMS activation.