H3PO4 activation mediated the iron phase transformation and enhanced the removal of bisphenol A on iron carbide-loaded activated biochar

Zhao N 1 , Liu K 2 , He C 2 , Zhao D 3 , Zhu L 4 , Zhao C 5 Show all authors , Zhang W 1 , Oh WD 6 , Zhang W 7 , Qiu R 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China
  • 2 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China
  • 3 Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
  • 4 State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China
  • 5 Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China
  • 6 School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia
  • 7 State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou, 510642, PR China
  • 8 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China; Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou, 510642, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural & Rural Pollution Abatement and Environmental Safety, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, PR China. Electronic address: eesqrl@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Environ Pollut, 2022 Feb 05;300:118965.
PMID: 35134429 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118965

Abstract

Zero valent iron-loaded biochar (Fe0-BC) has shown promise for the removal of various organic pollutants, but is restricted by reduced specific surface area, low utilization efficiency and limited production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, iron carbide-loaded activated biochar (Fe3C-AB) with a high surface area was synthesized through the pyrolysis of H3PO4 activated biochar with Fe(NO3)3, tested for removing bisphenol A (BPA) and elucidated the adsorption and degradation mechanisms. As a result, H3PO4 activated biochar was beneficial for the transformation of Fe0 to Fe3C. Fe3C-AB exhibited a significantly higher removal rate and removal capacity for BPA than that of Fe0-BC within a wide pH range of 5.0-11.0, and its performance was maintained even under extremely high salinity and different water sources. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectra and density functional theory calculations confirmed that hydrogen bonds were formed between the COOH groups and BPA. 1O2 was the major reactive species, constituting 37.0% of the removal efficiency in the degradation of BPA by Fe3C-AB. Density functional reactivity theory showed that degradation pathway 2 of BPA was preferentially attacked by ROS. Thus, Fe3C-AB with low cost and excellent recycling performance could be an alternative candidate for the efficient removal of contaminants.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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