Colloidal activated carbon as a highly efficient bifunctional catalyst for phenol degradation.

ABSTRACT

A preparation of colloidal activated carbon (CAC) for phenol remediation from groundwater was introduced. The CAC prepared by a simple pulverization technique was an excellent metal-free catalyst for persulfate (PS) activation due to high contact surface area. The removal efficiency of phenol in the PS/CAC system (~100%) was higher than that in the PS/activated carbon (AC) system (90.1%) and was superior to the conventional PS/Fe2+ system (27.9%) within 30 min. The phenol removal reaction occurred both in bulk solution and at the surface of the CAC, as confirmed by Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) kinetic model fitting, FT-IR, and electron spin resonance (ESR) analyses. The downsizing of particle size from AC to CAC played a critical role in the radical oxidation mechanism by leading to the formation of predominant superoxide radical (O2•-) species in the PS/CAC system. Anions NO3-, SO42-, and Cl- slightly inhibited the phenol removal efficiency, whereas CO32-, HCO3- and PO43- did not. Ferulic acid (C10H10O4) was detected as an organic byproduct of phenol oxidation. The use of CAC as a metal-free bifunctional catalyst has an important implication in the PS activation for phenol degradation in groundwater.