Efficient simultaneous removal of tetracycline hydrochloride and Cr(VI) through photothermal-assisted photocatalytic-Fenton-like processes with CuOx/γ-Al2O3

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on photo-Fenton reaction has been widely used in refractory organic wastewater treatment. However, the mineralization rate and H2O2 utilization in AOPs is relatively low. Herein, a photothermal-assisted photocatalytic-Fenton-like process with CuOx/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst was designed to solve the above issues. The utilization rate of H2O2 and mineralization rate of tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) in the 3%-CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/H2O2/full spectrum light system were significantly increased to 72.0% and 74.3%, respectively, which were ascribed to the synergy of photothermal effect and photocatalytic-Fenton-like reaction. During the simultaneous removal of TC and Cr(VI), the reaction efficiency of 3%-CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/H2O2/light system was much higher than that of 3%-CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/H2O2 system. In addition, the 3%-CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/H2O2/light system was not only active in wider pH range (3-9), but also effective in various organic pollutants and Cr(VI) coexisted solutions as well as different water conditions. More importantly, a possible photothermal-assisted photocatalytic-Fenton-like reaction mechanism for the simultaneous removal of TC and Cr(VI) in the CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/ H2O2/light system was proposed. This work may pave a new way for efficient simultaneous removal of refractory organic pollutants and heavy metals in wastewater. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a photothermal-assisted photocatalytic-Fenton-like process was designed to improve the utilization rate of H2O2 and the mineralization rate of organic wastewater in advanced oxidation processes. The simultaneous removal of organic pollutants and heavy metals in wastewater was successfully achieved using the CuOx/gamma-Al2O3/H2O2/light system.