Biomass-derived cellulose nanocrystals modified nZVI for enhanced tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) removal

Shiyan Li; Xiaolei Hu; Jie Zhou; Shuo Zheng; Quanxue Ma; Haoyang Fu; Wei-Xian Zhang; Zilong Deng

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131625

Biomass-derived cellulose nanocrystals modified nZVI for enhanced tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) removal

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Apr 16;268(Pt 2):131625. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131625. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shiyan Li¹, Xiaolei Hu¹, Jie Zhou¹, Shuo Zheng², Quanxue Ma², Haoyang Fu¹, Wei-Xian Zhang¹, Zilong Deng³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
² School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
³ State Key Laboratory for Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: zilongdeng@tongji.edu.cn.

PMID: 38631569
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.131625

Abstract

Nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) is an advanced environmental functional material for the degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). However, high surface energy, self-agglomeration and low electron selectivity limit degradation rate and complete debromination of bare nZVI. Herein, we presented biomass-derived cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) modified nZVI (CNC/nZVI) for enhanced TBBPA removal. The effects of raw material (straw, filter paper and cotton), process (time, type and concentration of acid hydrolysis) and synthesis methods (in-situ and ex-situ) on fabrication of CNC/nZVI were systematically evaluated based on TBBPA removal performance. The optimized CNC-S/nZVI_(in) was prepared via in-situ liquid-phase reduction using straw as raw material of CNC and processing through 44 % H₂SO₄ for 165 min. Characterizations illustrated nZVI was anchored to the active sites at CNC interface through electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds and FeO coordinations. The batch experiments showed 0.5 g/L CNC-S/nZVI_(in) achieved 96.5 % removal efficiency at pH = 7 for 10 mg/L initial TBBPA. The enhanced TBBPA dehalogenation by CNC-S/nZVI_(in), involving in initial adsorption, reduction process and partial detachment of debrominated products, were possibly attributed to elevated pre-adsorption capacity and high-efficiency delivery of electrons synergistically. This study indicated that fine-tuned fabrication of CNC/nZVI could potentially be a promising alternative for remediation of TBBPA-contaminated aquatic environments.

Keywords: Cellulose nanocrystals; Nanoscale zerovalent iron; Tetrabromobisphenol A.