Zu Daoyuan, Liu Jianbo, Wei Heting, Yang Kui, Tian Hailin, Ma Jinxing, Yang Zhifeng
Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China.
Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Water Res. 2025 Jul 1;279:123489. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123489. Epub 2025 Mar 13.
Reductant-driven Fenton-like advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) offer the potential to reduce transition metal and oxidant consumption, but the environmental implications of introducing reductants remain unclear. This study employs life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of reductant-driven Fenton-like systems as an alternative to conventional AOP. Five distinct Fenton-like systems were investigated, and their corresponding life cycle inventories compiled following systematic optimization of operating parameters. Results demonstrate that introducing reductant shifts environmental hotspots from oxidants to the added reductants. Commodity chemical reductants (hydroxylamine and ascorbic acid) significantly reduce energy consumption and environmental damage due to economies of scale. Their per unit Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) and environmental damage value are two orders of magnitude lower than those of specialty chemical reductants (10.31 and 8.93 MJ g MXene and MoS). Thus, novel catalysts, potentially associated with high energy consumption and toxic byproducts, require careful evaluation of their catalytic efficiency and unit environmental impact to determine overall environmental benefits. Scaling up chemical production, adopting regeneration strategy and transitioning to renewable energy sources represent key strategies for further environmental improvement. This study provides a quantitative framework for assessing the environmental performance of alternative Fenton-like systems, informing the design of more environmentally sustainable water purification technologies.
还原剂驱动的类芬顿高级氧化过程（AOPs）具有降低过渡金属和氧化剂消耗的潜力，但引入还原剂对环境的影响仍不明确。本研究采用生命周期评估（LCA）来评估还原剂驱动的类芬顿系统作为传统AOP替代方案的环境影响。研究了五种不同的类芬顿系统，并在对操作参数进行系统优化后编制了它们相应的生命周期清单。结果表明，引入还原剂会使环境热点从氧化剂转移到添加的还原剂上。商品化学还原剂（羟胺和抗坏血酸）由于规模经济显著降低了能源消耗和环境破坏。它们的单位累积能源需求（CED）和环境破坏值比特种化学还原剂（10.31和8.93 MJ g MXene和MoS）低两个数量级。因此，新型催化剂可能与高能耗和有毒副产物相关，需要仔细评估其催化效率和单位环境影响，以确定整体环境效益。扩大化学生产规模、采用再生策略以及向可再生能源转型是进一步改善环境的关键策略。本研究提供了一个定量框架，用于评估替代类芬顿系统的环境性能，为设计更具环境可持续性的水净化技术提供参考。
