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Oxidative degradation/mineralization of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) from plastic industrial wastewater using ferrate(VI)/TiO2 under ultraviolet irradiation

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Abstract

A novel ferrate(VI)/titanium dioxide/ultraviolet [Fe(VI)/TiO2/UV] system was successfully established for the photocatalytic oxidation of dimethyl phthalate (DMP). This system demonstrated a higher removal efficiency of DMP (95.2%) than the conventional TiO2/UV and Fe(VI) alone systems (51.8% and 23.5%, respectively) and produced obvious synergistic effects. Response surface methodology (RSM), based on a three level, three independent variables design, was conducted through Design Expert 8.0.6 program, and a second-order polynomial model (R2 = 0.998) was developed to quantitatively describe the photocatalysis of TiO2 combined with Fe(VI) oxidation under ultraviolet irradiation. The fresh TiO2 and photochemical reacted Fe(VI)/TiO2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and element dispersive spectrum (EDS), which indicated that Fe(VI) was imprinted into the TiO2, and the surface adsorbed Fe-O-(organic) materials inhibited DMP degradation. This photocatalytic oxidant showed high activity and stability after nine cycles without loss of its effectiveness (counting from the second cycle). The intermediates/products of DMP were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The proposed pathway for DMP degradation involved one electron transfer of hydroxyl radical and breaking of the ester bond and benzene ring. The mineralization efficiencies of DMP in actual industrial wastewater and simulated water were 87.1% and 95.2%, respectively, suggesting practical field applications. A ecotoxicity test (17.3% inhibition on bioluminescence) in treating actual industrial wastewater containing DMP implied that the proposed Fe(VI)/TiO2/UV had a potential for industrial water treatment.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary data files).

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Funding

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 30771696, 31270680) and Jiangsu University Advantages Construction Project Funding Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Ping Wang, Yi Ding, Liting Zhu, Yunhao Zhang, Sijie Zhou, Linbei Xie & Ao Li

Authors
  1. Ping Wang
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  2. Yi Ding
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  3. Liting Zhu
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  4. Yunhao Zhang
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  5. Sijie Zhou
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  6. Linbei Xie
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  7. Ao Li
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Contributions

Ping Wang: Funding acquisition, methodology, supervision, validation, and writing (review and editing)

Liting Zhu and Yunhao Zhang: Performed the catalytic tests, analyzed, and interpreted the results of the catalytic activity of the Fe(VI)/TiO2/UV system

Yi Ding and Sijie Zhou: Investigation, data analysis, and RSM software

Linbei Xie and Ao Li: Formal analysis and validation

The first draft of the manuscript was written by Liting Zhu. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ping Wang.

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Responsible Editor: Ricardo A. Torres-Palma

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Wang, P., Ding, Y., Zhu, L. et al. Oxidative degradation/mineralization of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) from plastic industrial wastewater using ferrate(VI)/TiO2 under ultraviolet irradiation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 15159–15171 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16636-x

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