Trace 17β-estradiol (E2) is persistent against advanced treatment when blended with higher concentrations of low-toxicity organics, thus wasting energy. A circulating-flow selective photoelectrocatalysis (CF-SPEC) system is established with a selective E2-TiO2-NR photoanode, accurately reducing 1 μg L–1 E2 to less than 0.1 ng L–1 along with eliminating estrogenic activity even when blended with natural organic matter (NOM) at a thousand times higher concentration. Such high efficiency is derived from the augmented selectivity and activity of E2-TiO2-NRs toward E2 during CF-SPEC. Under a flow, the difference in adsorption capacity between NOM and E2 is further amplified 5.6-fold. Furthermore, the higher initial •OH concentration and faster mass transfer jointly endow CF-SPEC with a stronger oxidation capacity. As a result, the removal of E2 increases by 58.7%, and the elimination of estrogenic activity increases 5.8-fold. In addition, deeper mineralization and less homo- and heterocoupling under CF-SPEC are observed, leading to more thorough estrogenic activity removal. Although additional energy is needed to maintain the flow, there is a 55% decrease in energy consumption due to the accurate removal capacity. This work suggests a combination of flow degradation and surface engineering that can be expanded for the selective removal of toxic trace pollutants in blended systems.
This article investigates the removal of trace levels of 17β-estradiol and estrogenic activity in wastewaters in the presence natural organic matter using a photoelectrocatalytic circulating flow. The results suggest a combination of flow degradation and surface engineering that can be expanded for the selective removal of these toxic trace pollutants in blended systems.
—— Julie B. Zimmerman, Editor-in-Chief, Environmental Science & Technology
同济大学
复旦大学
中国科学院上海高等研究院
Accurate Removal of Trace 17β-Estradiol and Estrogenic Activity in Blended Systems under a Photoelectrocatalytic Circulating Flow
2021, Vol. 55, No. 18
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c02630