Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 55, Issue 18, Pages 12585-12595Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02630
Keywords
accurate removal; photoelectrocatalysis; estrogenic activity; 17 beta-estradiol; titanium dioxide
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [22076140, 21876128, 91843301, 9204330002, 21537003]
- National Key Basic Research Program of China [2017YFA0403402]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [U1932119]
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A circulating-flow selective photoelectrocatalysis (CF-SPEC) system is established to efficiently remove the low-concentration organic compound 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and eliminate estrogenic activity, reducing energy consumption.
Trace 17 beta-estradiol (E2) is persistent against advanced treatment when blended with higher concentrations of low-toxicity organics, thus wasting energy. A circulating-flow selective photoelectrocatalysis (CF-SPEC) system is established with a selective E2-TiO2-NR photoanode, accurately reducing 1 mu g L-1 E2 to less than 0.1 ng L-1 along with eliminating estrogenic activity even when blended with natural organic matter (NOM) at a thousand times higher concentration. Such high efficiency is derived from the augmented selectivity and activity of E2-TiO2-NRs toward E2 during CF-SPEC. Under a flow, the difference in adsorption capacity between NOM and E2 is further amplified 5.6-fold. Furthermore, the higher initial (OH)-O-center dot concentration and faster mass transfer jointly endow CF-SPEC with a stronger oxidation capacity. As a result, the removal of E2 increases by 58.7%, and the elimination of estrogenic activity increases 5.8-fold. In addition, deeper mineralization and less homo- and heterocoupling under CF-SPEC are observed, leading to more thorough estrogenic activity removal. Although additional energy is needed to maintain the flow, there is a 55% decrease in energy consumption due to the accurate removal capacity. This work suggests a combination of flow degradation and surface engineering that can be expanded for the selective removal of toxic trace pollutants in blended systems.
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