Multi-catalysis of nano-zinc oxide for bisphenol A degradation in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma system: Effect and mechanism

Abstract

As a widely used chemical material, bisphenol A (BPA) is often used to produce kinds of chemicals, which lead risk to the ecological environment and human health. Based on the multi-catalysis of the nano-ZnO and multi-effect (chemical and physical) formed in the dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBDP) system, the synergistic elimination of the BPA in the DBDP system combined with nano-ZnO was evaluated. The obtained experimental results showed that the superior adding amount of the nano-ZnO was 50 mg/L and the synergistic system on the condition had the best effect for the BPA degradation (85.4%), which was 17% higher than that in the sole DBDP system. When O2 was bubbled into the reaction system, the degradation efficiency of the BPA in the synergistic system reached 100% after 20 min treatment. Compared with the alkaline solution, the acidic and weakly acidic solution could obtain higher treatment efficiency. OH and O2− had a vital role for the BPA elimination in the synergistic system. The intermediate products detected by LC-MS included 4-cumylphenol, 4-isopropenylphenol, 4-tert-butylphenol, propiophenone, 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethanone, tert-butylbenzene, benzoquinone and 1, 4- dihydroxybenzene.