Carbon aerogel from forestry biomass as a peroxymonosulfate activator for organic contaminants degradation

Mingshuo Zhu; Lingshuai Kong; Meng Xie; Wenhui Lu; Huan Liu; Nianlu Li; Zhenyu Feng; Jinhua Zhan

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125438

Carbon aerogel from forestry biomass as a peroxymonosulfate activator for organic contaminants degradation

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Jul 5:413:125438. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125438. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Authors

Mingshuo Zhu¹, Lingshuai Kong², Meng Xie³, Wenhui Lu¹, Huan Liu¹, Nianlu Li¹, Zhenyu Feng¹, Jinhua Zhan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, PR China.
² Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, PR China. Electronic address: qfkongls@163.com.
³ Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Shandong Analysis and Test Centre, Key Laboratory for Applied Technology of Sophisticated Analytical Instruments of Shandong Province, Jinan 250014, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, PR China. Electronic address: jhzhan@sdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33930962
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125438

Abstract

The carbon catalyst has been widely used as a peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator to degrade organic contaminants. The biomass carbon aerogel (CA) derived from poplar powder was synthesized in this study. CA with three-dimensional structure exhibited an excellent degradation performance of PMS activation for different types of organic contaminants including bisphenol A (BPA), rhodamine 6 G, phenol, and p-chlorophenol with the removal efficiencies up to 91%, 100%, 100%, and 60% within 60 min, respectively. It was found that singlet oxygen (¹O₂) dominated the non-radical pathway worked for BPA removal in CA/PMS system. The possible mechanism for PMS activation was discussed. A portion of ¹O₂ was produced through the transformation of superoxide radical (O₂^•-) in CA/PMS system. Electronic impedance spectroscopy (EIS) proved that the hierarchical structure of CA contributed to the electron transfer process for PMS activation. The ketonic/carbonyl groups (C˭O) on the surface of CA could serve as a possible active site to facilitate the generation of ¹O₂. In addition, CA showed superior degradation performance in actual water bodies and reusability with high-temperature regeneration treatment. This study developed an efficient and environmentally benign catalyst for water remediation of organic pollutants.

Keywords: Biomass carbon aerogel; Bisphenol A; Non-radical mechanism; Peroxymonosulfate; Singlet oxygen.

Publication types

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