Paint sludge derived activated carbon encapsulating with cobalt nanoparticles for non-radical activation of peroxymonosulfate

Chaofa Chen; Juan Wang; Zhixing Wang; Weiting Ren; Silva Khairunnisa; Peiyuan Xiao; Lining Yang; Feng Chen; Xi-Lin Wu; Jianrong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.079

Paint sludge derived activated carbon encapsulating with cobalt nanoparticles for non-radical activation of peroxymonosulfate

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Mar 15:658:209-218. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.079. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
² Zhejiang Anammox Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, 310013, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: 1810308@tongji.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China. Electronic address: dbwxl@zjnu.cn.
⁵ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China. Electronic address: cjr@zjnu.cn.

PMID: 38103471
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.12.079

Abstract

Industrial solid waste management and recycling are important to environmental sustainability. In this study, cobalt (Co) nanoparticles encapsulated in paint sludge-derived activated carbon (AC) were fabricated. The Co-AC possessed high conductivity, magnetic properties and abundant metal oxide impurities (TiAlSiO_x), which was applied as multifunctional catalyst for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. Compared to pure AC, the Co-AC exhibited significant enhanced performance for degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) via PMS activation. Mechanism studies by in situ Raman spectroscopy, Fourier infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical analysis and electron paramagnetic resonance suggested that surface-bonded PMS (PMS*) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂) are the dominant reactive species for TCH oxidation. The non-radical species can efficiently oxidize electron-rich pollutants with high efficiency, which minimized the consumption of PMS and the catalyst. The removal percentages of TCH reached 97 % within 5 min and ∼ 99 % within 15 min in the Co-AC/PMS system. The Co active sites facilitated PMS adsorption to form the PMS* and the TiAlSiO_x impurities provided abundant oxygen vacancy for generation of the ¹O₂. In addition, the Co-AC/PMS system achieved high efficiency and stability for oxidation of the target pollutants over a long-term continuous operation. This work not only offers a cost-effective approach for recycling industrial waste but also provides new insights into the application of waste-derived catalyst for environmental remediation.

Keywords: Nonradical pathways; Paint sludge; Peroxymonosulfate; Singlet oxygen; Solid waste recycling.