Synergistically enhanced activation of persulfate for efficient oxidation of organic contaminants using a microscale zero-valent aluminum/Fe-bearing clay composite

Abstract

Sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes have received increasing attention in contaminated water treatment. As an excellent electron donor, microscale zero-valent aluminum (mZVAl) is a promising persulfate (PS) activator. However, the natural oxide layer of mZVAl impedes electron transfer from the core metal. Herein, a composite comprising mZVAl and Fe-bearing clay (mZVAl-NaNAu-2) was obtained through the simple ball milling (BM), which synergistically activates PS for the efficient degradation of various organic contaminants, such as 4-chlorophenol, benzoic acid, nitrobenzene, phenol, and ofloxacin, in water. The sulfate radicals and hydroxyl radicals were the main reactive species but Fe(IV) was minor in this reaction. The BM can cause fracture of the mZVAl powder and promote exposure of the fresh Al0 surface. Various Fe species in mZVAl-NaNAu-2 at different reaction times were evaluated by extraction experiments, Mössbauer and XPS spectra. Approximately 47.0% of structural Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II) after BM. The dissolved Fe(II) and structural trioctahedral Fe(II)-Fe(II)-Fe(II) entities were mainly responsible for the homogeneous and heterogeneous activation of PS, and corroded mZVAl acted as an “electron pool” to regenerate the aforementioned Fe(II) species continuously. The mZVAl-NaNAu-2/PS system also presented certain resistance to a natural organic matter and some anions, such as Cl- and NO3-. This study provided a new strategy for the efficient removal of organic contaminants from water and also solved the bottleneck of mZVAl in applications due to its dense oxide film.