Preparation of Iron-Loaded Granular Activated Carbon Catalyst and Its Application in Tetracycline Antibiotic Removal from Aqueous Solution

Ling Pan, Yanzhi Cao, Ji Zang, Qinqing Huang, Lin Wang, Yingsheng Zhang, Shisuo Fan, Jun Tang and Zhengxin Xie
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Ling Pan: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Yanzhi Cao: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Ji Zang: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Qinqing Huang: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Lin Wang: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Yingsheng Zhang: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Shisuo Fan: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Jun Tang: Key Laboratory for Agri-Food Safety, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Zhengxin Xie: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-15

Abstract: The removal of tetracycline antibiotics from water is currently an important environmental issue. Here we prepared an iron-loaded granular activated carbon catalyst (GAC-Fe) through a one-step calcination method to remove tetracycline antibiotics from aqueous solution. The GAC-Fe was characterized by Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of different influencing factors on the removal behavior of tetracycline antibiotics was studied, such as the solid-to-liquid ratio, H 2 O 2 dosage, environmental temperature, initial pH, and contact time. The removal mechanism was explored through Fe ion dissolution and a free radical quenching experiment. The results show that the optimum solid-to-liquid ratio was 3.0 g?L −1 and the suitable H 2 O 2 dosage was 1.0 mL (3%). The applicable environmental temperature was 25 °C and the appropriate pH value was 2.0. The removal rate of tetracycline antibiotics tended to be stable in a contact time of 600 min. The main mechanism of tetracycline antibiotic removal by GAC-Fe was heterogeneous catalytic reaction through iron ion leaching and free radical inhibition experiment. The hydroxyl radical played a major role during the removal process. The partially dissolved iron ions initiated a homogeneous catalytic reaction. However, heterogeneous catalytic degradation was the main reaction. The GAC-Fe could still remove tetracycline antibiotics after five cycles, especially for methacycline and minocycline. Our work suggests that the GAC-Fe catalyst has potential as a remediation agent for tetracycline antibiotics in aqueous solution.

Keywords: granular activated carbon; tetracycline antibiotics; Fenton-like reaction; heterogeneous catalyst (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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