Efficient degradation of sulfamethazine in simulated and real wastewater at slightly basic pH values using Co-SAM-SCS /H2O2 Fenton-like system

Min Cheng; Guangming Zeng; Danlian Huang; Cui Lai; Yang Liu; Chen Zhang; Jia Wan; Liang Hu; Chengyun Zhou; Weiping Xiong

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.022

Efficient degradation of sulfamethazine in simulated and real wastewater at slightly basic pH values using Co-SAM-SCS /H₂O₂ Fenton-like system

Water Res. 2018 Jul 1:138:7-18. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.022. Epub 2018 Mar 10.

Authors

Min Cheng¹, Guangming Zeng², Danlian Huang³, Cui Lai¹, Yang Liu¹, Chen Zhang¹, Jia Wan¹, Liang Hu¹, Chengyun Zhou¹, Weiping Xiong¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. Electronic address: zgming@hnu.edu.cn.
³ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China. Electronic address: huangdanlian@hnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 29558693
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.022

Abstract

The presence of antibiotics in aquatic environments has attracted global concern. Fenton process is an attractive yet challenging method for antibiotics degradation, especially when such a reaction can be conducted at neutral pH values. In this study, a novel composite Fe/Co catalyst was synthesized via the modification of steel converter slag (SCS) by salicylic acid-methanol (SAM) and cobalt nitrate (Co(NO₃)₂). The catalysts were characterized by N₂-Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results indicated that the Co-SAM-SCS/H₂O₂ Fenton-like system was very effective for sulfamethazine (SMZ) degradation at a wide pH range. At initial pH of 7.0, the degradation rate of SMZ in Co-SAM-SCS/H₂O₂ system was 2.48, 3.20, 6.18, and 16.21 times of that in Fe-SAM-SCS/H₂O₂, SAM-SCS/H₂O₂, Co(NO₃)₂/H₂O₂ and SCS/H₂O₂ system, respectively. The preliminary analysis suggested that high surface area of Co-SAM-SCS sample and synergistic effect between introduced Co and SAM-SCS are responsible for the efficient catalytic activity. During the degradation, three main intermediates were identified by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis. Based on this, a possible degradation pathway was proposed. The SEM images, XRD patterns and XPS spectra before and after the reactions demonstrate that the crystal and chemical structure of Co-SAM-SCS after five cycles are almost unchanged. Besides, the Co-SAM-SCS presented low iron and cobalt leaching (0.17 mg/L and 2.36 mg/L, respectively). The studied Fenton-like process also showed high degradation of SMZ in river water and municipal wastewater. The progress will bring valuable insights to develop high-performance heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysts for environmental remediation.

Keywords: Cobalt; Degradation; Fenton-like; Steel converter slag; Sulfamethazine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry*
Catalysis
Cobalt / chemistry*
Environmental Restoration and Remediation
Hydrogen Peroxide / chemistry*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Iron / chemistry*
Methanol / chemistry*
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Rivers
Salicylic Acid / chemistry*
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Sulfamethazine / chemistry*
Wastewater
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

Anti-Infective Agents
Waste Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Cobalt
Sulfamethazine
cobaltous nitrate
Hydrogen Peroxide
Iron
Salicylic Acid
Methanol