Abstract
In the current study, graphene oxide, Fe3+, and Fe2+ were used for the synthesis of magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) by an in situ chemical coprecipitation method. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the well-prepared MGO. The prepared MGO was used as an adsorbent to remove five typical estrogens (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (17α-E2), estriol (E3), and synthetic estrogen (EE2)) at the ppb level from spiked ultrapure water and wastewater treatment plant effluent. The results indicated that the MGO can efficiently remove estrogens from both spiked ultrapure water and wastewater treatment plant effluent in 30 min at wide pH ranges from 3 to 11. The temperature could significantly affect removal performance. A removal efficiency of more than 90% was obtained at 35 °C in just 5 min, but at least 60 min was needed to get the same removal efficiency at 5 °C. In addition, an average of almost 80% of the estrogens can still be removed after 5 cycles of MGO regeneration but less than 40% can be reached after 10 cycles. These results indicate that MGO has potential for practical applications to remove lower levels of estrogens from real water matrixes and merits further evaluation.
Highlights
China has the largest population in the world and has been facing a serious water crisis and water pollution problem in the past decades
graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by a pressurized oxidation method described by Bao et al [30]
Sorption was decreased with increasing pH values, and E3 is the most sensitive to pH conditions compared to the other estrogens
Summary
China has the largest population in the world and has been facing a serious water crisis and water pollution problem in the past decades. According to the annual statistical yearbook for urban construction, 4.8 × 1010 m3 of wastewater was discharged in 2016 and more than 93% of the wastewater was treated by wastewater treatment plants. 77.6% of the treated wastewater from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was directly discharged into rivers and the other 22.4% was used to yield reclaimed water. The rate of reclaimed water use was 44.9% (4.5 × 109 m3 ) [1]. These figures are increasing as a consequence of government policies [2,3]. The safety of WWTP effluent has attracted scrutiny, even after it has met the criteria for discharge or reuse [4,5,6]. There are still persistent residual chemicals, such as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), pesticides, and pharmaceutical and personal care products [5,7,8], which are characterized by low concentrations (ng/L), high variety, and complicated physicochemical properties [9]
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