High Salinity Wastewater Research Articles

Strong metal-support interaction between carbon nanotubes and Mn-Fe spinel oxide in boosting peroxymonosulfate activation: Underneath mechanisms and application

This study has revealed how the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Mn0.65Fe2.35O4 (MnFeO) in boosting peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for rapid sulfamethoxazole (SMX) degradation. As synergized by CNTs, the PMS-activation efficiency of MnFeO could be enhanced by>24 times, but with the similar PMS-activation mechanism. It was explored that the SMSI-induced abundant surface hydroxyl groups, in cooperation with the highly hydrophobic CNTs, favored the rapid in situ interfacial degradation of SMX. This feature also endowed the MnFeO-CNTs catalyst resistance to high salinity waters containing inorganic anions (e.g., Cl- and NO3–) of weak complexing abilities. Moreover, the SMSI allowed the greatly accelerated redox cycle rate of Mn species by electron-rich CNTs, resulting in efficient PMS activation. Furthermore, the application feasibility of the MnFeO-CNTs/PMS system was demonstrated for a SMX-spiked real reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate. It was found that higher concentration of PMS could realize the complete removal of SMX, despite the existence of electron-rich tyrosine-like substances would compete with the SMX degradation in the MnFeO-CNTs/PMS system. This study demonstrated that the SMSI could boost the PMS activation, and could serve as an effective material strategy for in situ interfacial organics degradation in the high salinity wastewater.

Design of firm-pore superhydrophobic fibrous membrane for advancing the durability of membrane distillation

Electrospun fibrous distillation membrane (EFDM), owing to its low mass transfer resistance for relatively high-water flux, has attracted significant attention to the treatment of high salinity wastewater with membrane distillation. However, a significant challenge in using EFDM for desalination of high-salinity wastewaters is pore wetting induced by scaling. Herein, we designed a firm-pore superhydrophobic fibrous membrane via a facile and scalable electrospinning in combination with dip-coating methods, which displayed a high-water flux of about 28.5 L/m2·h (ΔT = 40 °C) and unexpected durability (>312 h) in the long-term running of direct contact membrane distillation. Significantly, we also systematically investigate the effect of surface wettability and pore structure on the durability of EFDM. The experiments and simulations demonstrate that the formation of firm-pore among the EFDM has a substantial influence on the membrane durability when desalinating high salinity wastewaters, owing to the avoidance of pore deformation influenced by the feedwaters turbulent on the EFDM surface. Meanwhile, the superhydrophobic surface also helps reducing the contact area between the crystals and the salts to further improve the membrane durability. The theory simulation may provide new insight into designing novel structured fibrous membrane to improve the fibrous membrane stability in MD.

Characterizing membrane fouling formation during ultrafiltration of high-salinity organic wastewater

High-salinity organic wastewater usually consists of diverse highly concentrated ions such as Na+, Ca2+ and Al3+ etc., which may significantly influence the fouling propensity when membrane technique is employed for contaminants removal. The current work investigated the effects of high salinity especially high-concentration Na+, Ca2+ and Al3+ on UF fouling characteristics, where 2 M Na+ and 0.5–1.0 M Ca2+ or Al3+ were applied according to the general composition of high-salinity wastewater. The results demonstrated that the presence of high-concentration Na+ alone benefited the ultrafiltration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution, but posed adverse effects on the ultrafiltration of humic acid (HA) solution. Further addition of Ca2+ or Al3+ on the basis of Na+ was found to aggravate the development of BSA fouling. Such differentiated behaviors were further elucidated by the comprehensive fouling characterizations in terms of foulant properties, specific resistances, filtration modelling and fouling layer observations. Correlation analysis suggested that irreversible fouling had strong relationship with Al3+ addition, while reversible fouling seemed to be primarily influenced by foulant size. Meanwhile, membrane rejection in the presence of various salts remarkably decreased, which was negatively correlated with zeta potential. Consequently, this study should shed light on the membrane fouling formation for treating high-salinity organic wastewater using membrane techniques.

Solid-phase denitrification in high salinity and low-temperature wastewater treatment

Nitrogen removal from wastewater is often deteriorated under high salinity and low temperature. Solid-phase denitrification (SPD) might improve total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) by stably supplying carbon resources under adverse conditions. In this study, an SPD biofilm reactor was successfully established by inoculating halophilic sludge and filling poly (butanediol succinate) (PBS) granules, and achieved over 96% TNRE at low temperature. More extracellular polysaccharides were produced at low temperature. Microbial network analysis evidenced dominant heterotrophic denitrifiers (Marinicella, Fusibacter, Saccharicrinis and Vitellibacter) at 25 °C were replaced by genera Melioribacter, Marinobacter, Desulfatitalea and Thiomicrospira at 15 °C. At low temperature, genes nirS and narG might be mainly responsible for denitrification. Fluorescence spectrum coupled with fluorescence regional integration and parallel factor analysis revealed low temperature increased the proportion of proteins of soluble microbial products. This study provides guidance for the practical application of SPD in the treatment of high salinity and low-temperature wastewater.

Effects of High Salinity on Alginate Fouling during Ultrafiltration of High-Salinity Organic Synthetic Wastewater.

Ultrafiltration is widely employed in treating high-salinity organic wastewater for the purpose of retaining particulates, microbes and macromolecules etc. In general, high-salinity wastewater contains diverse types of saline ions at fairly high concentration, which may significantly change foulant properties and subsequent fouling propensity during ultrafiltration. This study filled a knowledge gap by investigating polysaccharide fouling formation affected by various high saline environments, where 2 mol/L Na+ and 0.5–1.0 mol/L Ca2+/Al3+ were employed and the synergistic influences of Na+-Ca2+ and Na+-Al3+ were further unveiled. The results demonstrated that the synergistic influence of Na+-Ca2+ strikingly enlarged the alginate size due to the bridging effects of Ca2+ via binding with carboxyl groups in alginate chains. As compared with pure alginate, the involvement of Na+ aggravated alginate fouling formation, while the subsequent addition of Ca2+ or Al3+ on the basis of Na+ mitigated fouling development. The coexistence of Na+-Ca2+ led to alginate fouling formed mostly in a loose and reversible pattern, accompanied by significant cracks appearing on the cake layer. In contrast, the fouling layer formed by alginate-Na+-Al3+ seemed to be much denser, leading to severer irreversible fouling formation. Notably, the membrane rejection under various high salinity conditions was seriously weakened. Consequently, the current study offered in-depth insights into the development of polysaccharide-associated fouling during ultrafiltration of high-salinity organic wastewater.

Experimental and numerical investigation on evaporation characteristics of high salinity wastewater by rotary spray

Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) of high salinity wastewater is always an important subject in the field of energy and environment. In order to improve the evaporation rate, the mass and heat transfer characteristics of the rotary spray evaporation technology in the treatment of high salinity wastewater are explored. The relationship between the evaporation characteristics of wastewater and various parameters such as hot air flow rate, hot air temperature, feed flow rate, atomizing disk rotating speed and feed liquid concentration change is studied by experiment and simulation. It is concluded that the hot air temperature and hot air flow rate are important factors affecting the evaporation effect of the system. The atomizing disk rotating speed and the feed flow rate have a great influence on the atomization effect of the atomizer. A fluid recirculation area is generated around the atomizing disk, which allows droplets to reside longer in the evaporation chamber, thus improving the evaporation efficiency. Compared with other factors, the effect of feed liquid concentration on atomization and evaporation is relatively small. Finally, a better process operation condition is obtained through research: the atomizing disk rotating speed is 24,000 r/min, the feed flow rate is 4.5 kg/h, the hot air temperature is 498 K, and the hot air flow rate is 80 m3/h.

Selective conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas by enhanced electrochemical process assisted by reductive Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxides at cathode surface

A selective electrocatalytic system for the exhaustive conversion of inorganic nitrogen to nitrogen gas (N2) is developed, whereby the total nitrogen (TN) removal and N2 selectivity achieve 96.8 % and 99.6 % in 120 min, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry reveals the feasibility of electrooxidative chlorination of NH4+ compared to direct anodic oxidation. The TN removal is ranging from 96.2% to 99.7% under various inorganic nitrogen ratios. Green rust (GR) of mixed Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxides is identified at cathode surface by in-situ Raman analysis, donating electrons to NO3−. Direct electron reduction, indirect atomic H* reduction, and GR induced reduction are integrated for the rapid NO3− conversion at cathode interface. Treatment of authentic wastewater of nickel plating in continuous running further demonstrates the superiority and durability of the electrochemical system for both NO3− and TN abatement. The electrochemical system has potential for efficient and stable nitrogen pollutants removal in the high-salinity wastewater.

Enhancing robustness of activated sludge with Aspergillus tubingensis as a protective backbone structure under high-salinity stress

High salt seriously destroys the stable interactions among key functional species of activated sludge, which in turn limits the performance of high-salinity wastewater biological treatment. In this study, pelletized Aspergillus tubingensis (AT) was used as a protective backbone structure for activated sludge under high-salinity stress, and a superior salt-tolerant AT-based aerobic granular sludge (AT-AGS) was developed. Results showed that the COD and NH4+-N removal efficiencies of salt-domesticated AT-AGS were 11.83% and 7.18% higher than those of salt-domesticated flocculent activated sludge (FAS) at 50 gNaCl/L salinity. Compared to the salt-domesticated FAS, salt-domesticated AT-AGS showed stronger biomass retention capacity (with a MLVSS concentration of 7.92 g/L) and higher metabolic activity (with a dehydrogenase activity of 48.06 mgTF/gVSS·h). AT modified the extracellular polymeric substances pattern of microbes, and the total extracellular polysaccharide content of AT-AGS (80.7 mg/gVSS) was nearly twice than that of FAS (46.3 mg/gVSS) after salt-domestication, which demonstrated that extracellular polysaccharide played a key role in keeping the system stable. The high-throughput sequencing analysis illustrated that AT contributed to maintain the microbial richness and diversity of AT-AGS in high-salt environment, and Marinobacterium (with a relative abundance of 32.04%) became the most predominant genus in salt-tolerant AT-AGS. This study provided a novel insight into enhancing the robustness of activated sludge under high-salinity stress.

Low dose of sulfur-modified zero-valent iron for decontamination of trace Cd(II)-complexes in high-salinity wastewater

Achieving Cd removal standards is a difficult task due to the strict Cd discharge standards for industrial wastewater. Moreover, the low concentration of Cd remaining in industrial wastewater after pretreatment often exists in a complex state, and the wastewater has a high salinity. Hereupon, we propose to use a small amount of sulfur-modified zero-valent iron (S-NZVI) to remove residual low-concentration Cd complexes in high-salinity wastewater. EDTA-Cd (2000 μg/L) was completely removed when the dose of S-NZVI was only 0.05 g/L. Moreover, the removal process was almost unaffected by salinity. Even when the salinity was 5%, the adsorption capacity still reached 39.5 mg/g, and the concentration of residual Cd was less than 50 μg/L, which meets the China Environmental Protection Administration emission standards (less than 0.1 mg/L). In addition, S-NZVI can almost completely remove EDTA-Cd in the pH range of 2–7. It shows good removal performance for the other four Cd carboxyl complexes (DTPA, citrate, glycine, and tartrate). Furthermore, S-NZVI also shows good performance in the case of high concentrations of coexisting ions (CaCl2, MgCl2, Na2SO4, NaNO3) and organics (Na2EDTA, imidazole, thiourea, acetone). However, the performance of S-NZVI is certainly inhibited by the presence of complexing substances or reducing substances. The mechanism EDTA-Cd removal by S-NZVI is that S-NZVI leaches Fe3+ into the solution, and the Fe3+ completes the replacement of EDTA-Cd. The LMCT produced by EDTA-Fe under natural light promotes the replacement process, and finally, the released Cd2+ is captured by S-NZVI and removed as CdS and Fe-O-Cd.

Rapid removal of Cr(III) from high-salinity wastewater by cellulose-g-poly-(acrylamide-co-sulfonic acid) polymeric bio-adsorbent

A cellulose-g-poly-(acrylamide-co-sulfonic acid) polymeric bio-adsorbent (CASA) was prepared by grafting copolymerization, and used to adsorb Cr(III) from leather wastewater. The SEM, XRD, FTIR, and XPS results showed that CASA contains many spherical particles and functional groups such as NH2, CO, and HSO3. The adsorption experiments revealed that CASA presented excellent adsorption performance for Cr(III) (274.69 mg/g of max adsorption capacity) from high-salinity wastewater, which was much better than other reported adsorbents with different structures. Meanwhile, adsorption equilibrium could be reached within 10 min due to the introduction of abundant sulfonic acid groups on its surface. In addition, the adsorption process followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the experimental data conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. Moreover, the main adsorption mechanisms include chelation, electrostatic interactions, and cation exchange, which provide an important theoretical basis for the removal of toxic inorganic pollutants from leather wastewater.

New insights into membrane fouling formation during ultrafiltration of organic wastewater with high salinity

Membrane separation technology has been generally preferred for treating high-salinity organic wastewater during the last decades of years. Despite not suitable for ion removal, ultrafiltration (UF) is quite appropriate and widely employed for retaining solids, organic matters and macromolecules etc. from high-salinity wastewater. However, limited efforts have been made to investigate the UF fouling characteristics affected by such high saline environment. In this study, sodium chloride (NaCl) with the concentration higher than 10 g/L was employed to examine its impacts on the UF fouling behaviors. The results showed that the involvement of high-concentration NaCl remarkably aggravated HA fouling formation, whereas mitigated BSA fouling development. In the presence of NaCl, HA seemed to form a more homogenous fouling layer, while substantial scattered and large NaCl crystals with different shapes appeared on BSA fouling layer. Further analysis demonstrated that NaCl at high levels induced the agglomeration of BSA foulants, leading to their slower transportation to membrane surface and alleviated the formation of cake layer. Comparatively, the electrostatic attraction and thermodynamic interactions between HA-HA and HA-membrane were substantially increased at high-salinity condition, probably facilitating HA migration to membrane and enhancing fouling layer development. Consequently, the different effects of high salinity on HA and BSA fouling were systematically revealed with their formation mechanisms proposed, which should provide an insightful guidance for membrane fouling control when high-salinity organic wastewater is treated with membrane-based technique.

Thermodynamic study on evaporation crystallization of high saline wastewater from lead-acid batteries

The metastable zone width (MSZW) of Na2SO4-NaCl-H2O from high saline water of lead-acid batteries was studied at different temperatures by the conductivity method in the experiment. Results show that the metastable width of Na2SO4-NaCl-H2O increases with the increase of temperature. The MSZW of Na2SO4-NaCl-H2O containing calcium ion is larger than that of the solution without calcium ion. The MSZW at pH 1 is approximately the same as that at pH 2, and the MSZW is larger than that of the control group. The width of the metastable zone decreases by about 2.5 K from 0 r/min to 100 r/min, and 2.2 K from 100 r/min to 120 r/min. The width of the metastable zone increases to 7.5–8 K when the speed increases from 120 r/min to 140 r/min. The metastable zone width of the solution containing lead is larger than that of the control group, and the difference is in the range of 2.1 ~ 3.9 K.

Biofilm formation enhancement in anaerobic treatment of high salinity wastewater: Effect of biochar/Fe addition

The application of biofilm-based processes such as up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors for saline wastewater treatment faces the problems of low strength and stability of granules cause by high salt concentration. In this study, the effect of biochar/Fe addition on biofilm formation was examined in anaerobic treatment of high salinity (10 g-Na+/L) wastewater with two parallel lab-scale UASBs. Higher removal efficiencies of soluble influent organics and methane production were achieved in the biochar/Fe seeded UASB reactor with an organic loading rate (OLR) ranging from 2.5 to 10 g-COD/L/d. The average SS concentration of the granular sludge in the biochar/Fe seeded UASB reactor reached 21.6 g/L while that in the non-biochar/Fe-seeded UASB one was 16.4 g/L. A higher extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of 91.1 mg/g-VSS and medium particle size (D50) of 63.2 µm in the granular sludge with biochar/Fe addition were observed. All these results suggest that biochar/Fe addition can effectively improve biofilm formation under high salinity conditions.

Integration of seeding- and heating-induced crystallization with membrane distillation for membrane gypsum scaling and wetting control

Although membrane distillation (MD) has great potential in treating high-salinity wastewater, continuous accumulation of inorganic salt due to increasing concentration inevitably causes supersaturation and subsequent membrane scaling. Crystallizer is an effective tool used for removal of salts; however, it has been hardly applied for sparingly soluble salts. In this study, a simultaneous membrane distillation–crystallization (SMDC) system was developed for gypsum scaling control. Induced crystallization was adopted to retard the membrane scaling. The transmittance and ion concentration of the concentrate were measured to investigate the performance of the induced crystallization. The membrane scaling was characterized by both vapor flux measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Besides, the permeate conductivity was monitored to assess the membrane wetting during MD, and the energy evaluation was performed for the SMDC system during the reverse osmosis brine treatment. Results showed that the seeding of gypsum at dosage of 1 g L−1 effectively restricted the membrane scaling and wetting. Although the combination of seeding and heating showed better membrane scaling control performance, the energy consumption of the SMDC system increased by 4 times without considering heat recovery. Therefore, feed seeding alone is an efficient and economical measure to restrict gypsum scaling and wetting during the high-salinity wastewater treatment using MD.

Ficus hispida leaf paste for goatskin preservation: Pollution reduction in tannery wastewater

AbstractWet salting preservation is commonly practiced to preserve raw hide/skin which discharges high salinity wastewater during soaking operation of hide/skin processing. The saline wastewater significantly pollutes the environment. In this study, a novel plant‐based approach has been made to preserve the goatskin to reduce pollution in tannery wastewater. The Ficus hispida plant leaf paste with a minimal amount of common salt was applied on the flesh side of raw goatskin. Efficacy of the method was evaluated by scrutinizing thermal stability, hair slip, odor, moistness percentage, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, and bacterial count in comparison with the conventional wet salting preservation method for 28 days. Pollution load in the wastewater, for example, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), chloride (Cl−), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was measured following the APHA method. Results indicate that the novel plant‐based method has decreased the pollution load of Cl−, TDS, TSS, BOD, and COD in the tannery wastewater by 51.02%, 41.6%, 37.1%, 2.9%, and 14.6%, respectively. Leather produced from the experimentally preserved goatskin illustrates similar physical properties in comparison to the leather produced from conventionally preserved goatskin. The proposed preservation technique of goatskin in combination with lower salt might be an ecological alternative that could decrease the pollution load especially in soaking operation.

Thermo-economic and environmental optimization of a solar-driven zero-liquid discharge system for shale gas wastewater desalination

Wastewater management is one of the main hurdles encountered by the shale gas industry for boosting overall process cost-effectiveness while reducing environmental impacts. In this light, this paper introduces a new multi-objective model for the thermo-economic and environmental optimization of solar-based zero-liquid discharge (ZLD) desalination systems. The solar-driven ZLD system is especially developed for desalinating high-salinity wastewaters from shale gas process. A decentralized system is proposed, encompassing a solar thermal system, a Rankine power cycle, and a multiple-effect evaporator combined with mechanical vapor recompression. The environment-friendly ZLD operation is ensured by specifying the salt concentration of brine discharges close to saturation conditions. The mathematical modelling approach is centered on a multi-objective non-linear programming (MoNLP) formulation, which is aimed at simultaneously minimizing thermo-economic and environmental objective functions. The latter objective function is quantified by the ReCiPe methodology based on life cycle assessment. The MoNLP model is implemented in GAMS software, and solved through the epsilon-constraint method. A set of trade-off Pareto-optimal solutions is presented to support decision-makers towards implementing more sustainable and cost-efficient solar-driven ZLD desalination systems. The comprehensive energy, economic and environmental analysis reveals that the innovative system significantly decreases costs and environmental impacts in shale gas wastewater operations.

Superhydrophobized Polyacrylonitrile/Hierarchicall-FeOOH Nanofibrous Membrane for High-salinity Water Treatment in Membrane Distillation

Water flux and hydrophobic durability play important roles in membrane distillation(MD) applications. Compared with the method of adsorbing nanoparticles by electrostatic adsorption, the surface roughness constructed by chemical bonding is more conducive to the performance of membrane. This paper reports a facile approach to fabricating superhydrophobic fluoroalkyl silane/polydimethylsiloxane@FeOOH@stabilized polyacrylonitrile(FAS/PDMS@FeOOH@SPAN) nanofibrous membrane(NFM) with outstanding hierarchical structures, aiming to achieve efficient and stable performance in MD. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile(PAN) membrane after peroxidation was chosen as the base membrane, followed by in-situ synthesis of iron oxyhydroxide and liquid-phase silanization. We tested the characteristics of FAS/PDMS@FeOOH@SPAN NFM in each preparation stage and its performance in direct contact membrane distillation(DCMD). The chemical bond between iron oxyhydroxide and the membrane is stronger, making the rough structure steady and dense. The FAS/PDMS@FeOOH@SPAN NFM exhibited a water contact angle of 155.4° and excellent hydrophobicity towards different pollutants. Besides, it showed satisfied properties with a water flux of 24.7 L·m−2·h−1, a high salts rejection of ca. 100% and an extended-term stability in DCMD using hypersaline water(10%, mass ratio). It is believed that this novel study proposes a universal and efficient method to fabricate a superhydrophobic surface and has great potential for high-salinity wastewater treatment in MD.

Dynamic characteristics of microbial community and soluble microbial products in partial nitrification biofilm system developed from marine sediments treating high salinity wastewater

High salinity wastewater generally resulted in microorganism death and low treatment efficiency of nutrient in conventional activity sludge system. Marine sediments, containing a huge amount of natural salt-tolerant microorganisms, provide a feasible option for the rapid construction of halophilic biological treatment system. However, the dynamic of native microorganisms and the fate of soluble microbial products (SMP) in halophilic biofilm system developed from marine sediments needs to be further studied. In this study, a partial nitrification system was successfully established by inoculation of marine sediments in sequential batch biofilm reactor. Satisfactory chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH4+-N removal efficiency (95% and 99%) and nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) (>90%) was achieved for treatment of synthetic seawater blackwater. High cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) and proteins to polysaccharide ratio of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) were beneficial to the initial biofilm formation. High-throughput sequencing results revealed Nitrosomonas halophila was the sole ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Thauera and Paracoccus were the main denitrifying bacteria in three biofilm samples. Excitation emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) clarified that proteins were significantly degraded than the other two components (humic-like and fulvic acid-like substance). This study will provide a feasible approach for developing halophilic biological treatment system and present an in-depth insight of the dynamic characteristics of SMP in partial nitrification biofilm system.

Membrane cleaning and pretreatments in membrane distillation – a review

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging thermal-based membrane technology that has the capacity to treat a wide range of feed waters, including high salinity brines and wastewater. Compared with pressure-driven processes, MD has the following advantages: low electrical energy consumption, complete removal of non-volatile solutes and ambient operating pressures. On the other hand, membrane fouling and pore wetting remain a challenge holding back its wider industrial implementation. To manage this issue, effective pretreatment and cleaning strategies are essential, as with other membrane processes. Despite the importance of these aspects for achieving a stable and reliable water treatment process, far too little attention has been paid to them in the MD literature. Evidence of this is that a comprehensive review on both membrane cleaning and pretreatment in MD is still lacking, despite the large and growing number of publications related to the technology. In this work, we first provide an overview of the three main types of fouling present in MD: inorganic, organic and biological fouling. After this we review, in detail, the use of pretreatment protocols in a range of MD applications, highlighting their efficacy in preventing fouling and ensuring stable performance. Next, we review the use of state-of-the-art chemical and physical cleaning strategies and discuss the development of ‘self-cleaning’ membranes that are superhydrophobic or omniphobic. Finally, future research directions are suggested, with the aim of helping researchers working in this field to develop membrane distillation technology towards wider commercial implementation.

In-situ Cu-doped carbon-supported catalysts applied for high-salinity polycarbonate plant wastewater treatment and a coupling application

• Cu and N doped biochar (Cu@NBC) was fabricated from the waste adsorbent. • The Cu@NBC/PDS system equipped with resistance to anions in high-salinity wastewater. • Cu@NBC can be uniformly deposited onto the PSF membrane. • Cu@NBC/PSF membrane exhibited instantaneous catalytic performance. • Electron-transfer process can inactivate bacteria to relieve membrane fouling. Organic pollutants decomposition in high-salinity wastewater is still a challenge for environmental restoration due to the inhibitory effects results from the consumption of radicals by anions. Herein, we demonstrated a non-radical oxidation process via the peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation rather than photocatalysis by the Cu 2+ adsorbed adsorbent-based nitrogen doped biochar (Cu@NBC) for efficiently decontaminating polycarbonate plant wastewater (PCW). After the pyrolysis, the Cu 2+ in the waste biosorbent were reduced to Cu 2 O, and the N-doping improved the fixation of Cu and the formation of Cu 2 O. Through both dynamic fitting and characterization analysis, the critical role of Cu 2 O in PDS activation rather than photocatalysis was revealed for the first time. Different from always reported 1 O 2 dominated non-radical process, an electron-transfer mechanism involving surface metastable species was proved to play a key role in the Cu@NBC/PDS system. Benefit from the electron-transfer process, the Cu@NBC/PDS system equipped with high resistance to the anions in high-salinity wastewater. The results indicated that BPA as well as chemical oxygen demand (COD) could be effective removal within 90 min. We further deposited the activator on an ultrafiltration membrane and exhibited a rapid oxidation of BPA as the wastewater passed through the filter, and the composite membrane can effectively inactivate bacteria, which will provide a safety strategy for mitigation of membrane fouling.