Abstract
To improve the catalytic activity and stability of a copper-iron-based Fenton-like system, the element cerium was added to the Cu-Fe-based catalyst via spray drying-calcination method. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was chosen as the target pollutant to evaluate the properties of the ceria-promoted Fe/Cu@γ-Al_2O_3 (Ce-Fe/ Cu@γ-Al_2O_3) microspheres. The experimental results showed that the PVA removal rate reached 99.74% in the Ce-Fe/Cu@γ-Al_2O_3/H_2O_2 system. After 10 consecutive catalytic reactions, the PVA removal rate was still maintained above 96%. Comparative experimental results showed that the addition of Ce signifcantly improved the catalytic activity and stability of the Cu-Fe-based catalyst. In addition, this catalytic system also showed good degradation efciency for Rhodamine-B and Reactive Red X-3B dyes, with removal rates reaching 99.97% and 99.94%, respectively. The mechanism of the synergistic effect of Cu, Fe, and Ce was established, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments revealed that hydroxyl (·OH), super-oxide (O_2-), and singlet oxygen (~1O_2) radicals were involved in the catalytic degradation of PVA. This study demonstrates a novel spray drying-calcination method for the preparation of Ce-Fe/Cu@γ-Al_2O_3 micro-spheres with outstanding catalytic activity and stability in Fenton-like systems. The Ce-Fe/Cu@γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst prepared in this research provides a potential alternative for the efcient removal of organic pollutants in wastewater.
NSTL
Elsevier