Tetracycline Removal by Activating Persulfate with Diatomite Loading of Fe and Ce

• Main Authors: Chongning Lv, Jindou Shi, Qiuju Tang, Qi Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: tetracycline; persulfate; advance oxidation; diatomite; wastewater
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/23/5531

<b> </b>Persulfate (PS)-based oxidation technology is efficient in removing refractory organics from water. A novel diatomite (DIA) support Fe and Ce composite (Fe-Ce/DIA) was prepared for activating persulfate to degrade tetracycline in water. The Fe and Ce were uniformly loaded on DIA, and the total pore size of Fe-Ce/DIA was 6.99 × 10⁻² cm³/g, and the average pore size was 12.06 nm. Fe-Ce/DIA presented a good catalytic activity and 80% tetracycline was removed under the persulfate system. The Fe-Ce/DIA also had photocatalytic activity, and the corresponding tetracycline removal efficiency was 86% under UV irradiation. Fe-Ce/DIA exhibited less iron dissolution rate compared with Fe-DIA. The tetracycline degradation rate was enhanced when the temperature increased. The optimal tetracycline removal efficiency was obtained when the conditions were of persulfate 10 mM, Fe-Ce/DIA dosage 0.02 g/L, and tetracycline concentration 50 mg/L. In addition, Fe-Ce/DIA showed a wide pH application and good reusability and stability.