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A pathway of free radical generation via copper corrosion and its application to oxygen and ozone activation for the oxidative destruction of organic pollutants

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Abstract

This study investigated the commercially available zero-valent copper powder and copper foil to activate molecular oxygen (O2) and ozone for the degradation of organic pollutants. Under aerobic atmospheric conditions, copper powder effectively removed 50 mg/L of acetaminophen (ACT) within 2 h, though the degradation rate using the foil was less than 20% of the powder. However, copper foil activated ozone to effectively degrade ACT. The total organic carbon (TOC) removal reached a high of 58.3% at a catalyst concentration of 40 g/L, but only 26.8% with ozone alone. The initial solution pH and dosage of copper foil were key operational parameters affecting the ozone activation process. H2O2 and Cu(I) were important intermediates in the process as hydroxyl radicals (·OH) were identified via EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) experiments and free radical scavengers. The generation of ·OH was attributed to a Fenton-like reaction between Cu(I) and H2O2; this free-radical generation mechanism differs from typical transition metal oxide catalysts. This study outlines a promising approach to significantly increase the generation of ·OH and effectively remove refractory organic compounds. Furthermore, these copper products are applied in structural components of practical water treatment. Thus, the study of corrosion resistance to oxygen and ozone in aqueous solution have both a practical and theoretical significance. It was determined that copper products were resistant to oxygen corrosion in aqueous solution, but not resistant to ozone corrosion.

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Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51778449) and the Foundation of Institute of Water Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (Yancheng), China (NDYC-KF-2017-06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Research Center for Urban Pollution Control, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Qiuyue Wang, Hongwu Wang & Luming Ma

  2. School of Environment and Civil Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, 523808, People’s Republic of China

    Yunfei Zhang

Authors
  1. Qiuyue Wang
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  2. Yunfei Zhang
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  3. Hongwu Wang
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  4. Luming Ma
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Correspondence to Hongwu Wang.

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Wang, Q., Zhang, Y., Wang, H. et al. A pathway of free radical generation via copper corrosion and its application to oxygen and ozone activation for the oxidative destruction of organic pollutants. Res Chem Intermed 44, 7391–7410 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-018-3562-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-018-3562-2

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