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Oxalate Enhanced Organic Pollutant Removal with a UV/Fe0 System: Performance, Mechanisms, and Role of Oxalate

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Abstract

This study presented the efficient removal of tartrazine, a typical biorefractory dye, in a heterogeneous photochemical Fenton-like system adopting Fe0 and oxalate (Ox) (UV/Fe0/Ox). Only 47.4% tartrazine could be removed within 60 min with a UV/Fe0 system. The addition of Ox could significantly enhance the removal of tartrazine to 72.4% within only 20 min with the UV/Fe0/Ox system. The effects of various factors, such as the Fe0 dose (0–0.8 g/L), Ox dose (0–2 mM), initial pH (2–6), and initial tartrazine concentration (2–30 mg/L), on the removal of tartrazine were examined. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Mossbauer spectroscopy were conducted to explore the mechanism by which oxalate enhances the performance of the UV/Fe0 system. Ox could inhibit the formation of iron (hydro)xides on the Fe0 surface, thus guaranteeing the reactivity of Fe0 during the reaction. Compared with Fe2O3, FeS, and Fe3O4, Fe0 was a good heterogeneous iron catalyst for the photolysis of tartrazine with the Ox system. Compared with H3PO4, nitrilotriacetic acid, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, Ox was also a good photolysis chelating agent. The UV/Fe0/Ox system could also maintain fast tartrazine removal after five consecutive runs without the addition of Fe0, indicating the good stability of Fe0.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Project (2017YFC0505803) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41977354). This study was also financially supported by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Yuwei Pan, Zhuoyu Bu & Jiangang Han

  2. School of Environment, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, China

    Xiang Li

  3. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China

    Jiangang Han

  4. National Positioning Observation Station of Hung-tse Lake Wetland Ecosystem in Jiangsu Province, Hongze, Huai’an, 223100, Jiangsu, China

    Jiangang Han

Authors
  1. Yuwei Pan
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  2. Zhuoyu Bu
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  3. Xiang Li
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  4. Jiangang Han
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Contributions

Yuwei Pan: Conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing original draft, and writing review and editing. Zhuoyu Bu: investigation and resources. Xiang Li: investigation and resources. Jiangang Han: supervision, funding acquisition, and resources.

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Correspondence to Yuwei Pan or Jiangang Han.

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Pan, Y., Bu, Z., Li, X. et al. Oxalate Enhanced Organic Pollutant Removal with a UV/Fe0 System: Performance, Mechanisms, and Role of Oxalate. Water Air Soil Pollut 232, 99 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-021-05063-w

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