Magnetic Ag0 and CuO doped bio-sonocatalyst multi-walled carbon nanotube for synergized degradation of monoethylene glycol from gas refinery effluents

A novel magnetic Ag⁰ and CuO doped bio-sonocatalyst nanotube carbon was synthesized by advanced microwave-assisted co-precipitation and hybrid reduction methods in the presence of methylcellulose, a natural polysaccharide of cellulose derivatives, and then was investigated for its potential application in the sonocatalytic degradation of monoethylene glycol (MEG) from gas refinery wastewater. Structural characterization analyses were employed to confirm the successful synthesis of the bio-nanocomposite by uniform structure. XRD and FTIR analyses revealed a crystalline structure with MC functional groups that promote contaminant interaction. The bio-sonocatalyst exhibited magnetic characterization with a high specific surface area and thermal stability, as determined by further analysis. Optimum MEG degradation up to 82.9 % was achieved using a 0.8 g/L bio-catalyst dosage and a 5 mM persulfate. The process exhibited the highest efficiency in mildly acidic environments and followed pseudo-first-order kinetics (R² > 0.9). Scavenger studies identified sulfate radicals as playing a dominant role in the degradation process. Real wastewater treatment demonstrated the method's applicability, albeit with reduced efficiency (53.4 %). The machine learning indicated that the KNN model had the maximum accuracy (R² = 0.96), making it the optimal prediction model. The bio-catalyst exhibited excellent reusability with minimal metal leaching and maintained its structural integrity over 4 cycles.