Bicarbonate enhanced heterogeneous activation of peroxymonosulfate by copper ferrite nanoparticles for the efficient degradation of refractory organic contaminants in water.

Nowadays, the treatment of residual refractory organic contaminants (ROCs) is a huge challenge for environmental remediation. In this study, a potential process is provided by copper ferrite catalyst (CuFeO) activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS, HSO) in the bicarbonate (HCO) enhanced system for efficient removal of Acid Orange 7 (AO7), 2,4-dichlorophenol, phenol and methyl orange (MO) in water. The impact of key reaction parameters, water quality components, main reactive oxygen species (ROS), probable degradation mechanism, rational degradation pathways and catalyst stability were systematically investigated. A 95.0% AO7 (C = 100 mg L) removal was achieved at initial pH (pH) of 5.9 ± 0.1 (natural pH), CuFeO dosage of 0.15 g L, PMS concentration of 0.98 mM, HCO concentration of 2 mM, and reaction time of 30 min. Both sulfate radical (SO) and hydroxyl radical (OH) on the surface of catalyst were proved as the predominant radical species through radical quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis. The buffer nature of HCO was partially contributed for the enhanced degradation of AO7 under CuFeO/PMS/HCO system. Importantly, according to C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and EPR analysis, the positive effect of bicarbonate may be mainly attributed to the formation of peroxymonocarbonate (HCO), which may enhance the generation of OH. The magnetic CuFeO particles can be well recycled and the leaching concentration of Cu was acceptable (<1 mg L). Considering the widespread presence of bicarbonate in water environment, this work may provide a safe, efficient, and sustainable technique for the elimination of ROCs from practical complex wastewater.