Synthesis of zero-valent iron supported with graphite and plastic based carbon from recycling spent lithium ion batteries and its reaction mechanism with 4-chlorophenol in water

Guilan Gao; Zhuoxiang Li; Shuai Chen; Carolina Belver; Donghai Lin; Zixiang Li; Jie Guan; Yaoguang Guo; Jorge Bedia

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116490

Synthesis of zero-valent iron supported with graphite and plastic based carbon from recycling spent lithium ion batteries and its reaction mechanism with 4-chlorophenol in water

J Environ Manage. 2023 Jan 1;325(Pt B):116490. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116490. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Authors

Guilan Gao¹, Zhuoxiang Li¹, Shuai Chen², Carolina Belver³, Donghai Lin¹, Zixiang Li¹, Jie Guan¹, Yaoguang Guo¹, Jorge Bedia⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Polytechnic University, Shanghai, 201209, China.
² School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Polytechnic University, Shanghai, 201209, China; Chemical Engineering Department, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid E, 28049, Spain. Electronic address: chenshuai@sspu.edu.cn.
³ Chemical Engineering Department, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid E, 28049, Spain.
⁴ Chemical Engineering Department, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, Madrid E, 28049, Spain. Electronic address: jorge.bedia@uam.es.

PMID: 36279770
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116490

Abstract

Graphite and plastic recycled from spent lithium ion batteries were used to synthesize zero-valent iron/graphite (ZVI/G), zero-valent iron/plastic-based carbon (ZVI/P), and zero-valent iron/graphite and plastic-based carbon (ZVI/GP) with iron oxide through carbothermic reduction. The aim of preparing these catalysts is to improve the performance of ZVI in the removal of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in water through heterogeneous Fenton reactions. The structural and textural properties of materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, N₂ adsorption/desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The synthesis procedure successfully disperses ZVI particles on the synthesized materials. The combination of graphite and plastic-based carbon in ZVI/GP resulted in the best 4-CP removal performance. The degradation data fitted pseudo-first-order kinetic well. The Increase in the ZVI/GP dosage and the hydrogen peroxide concentration enhanced the 4-CP removal due to the increase in the amount of Fe²⁺ ions and reactive sites. Acidic pH increased the 4-CP removal percentage due to the high H⁺ concentration. The increase in the temperature favored the •OH formation and facilitated the 4-CP removal. The reaction energy of ZVI/GP reaches 53.54 kJ mol^-1, which is competitive among the iron catalysts reported in literatures, and showing the 4-CP removal is reaction-controlled process. This study shows a promising way of recycling graphite and plastic in spent LIBs to prepare ZVI materials for wastewater treatment with the advantages of improved conductivity by graphite and added functional groups by plastic based carbon.

Keywords: 4-Chlorophenol; Graphite; Plastic; Spent LIBs; Zero-valent iron.