Removal of a Contaminant of Emerging Concern by Heterogeneous Catalytic Ozonation Process with a Novel Nano Bimetallic Catalyst Embedded on Activated Carbon

ABSTRACT Organic contaminants such as Bisphenol A are classified as Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs). The inability of conventional water and wastewater treatments to remove CECs has made Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) attractive for their removal from water sources. Oxidation species such as hydroxyl radicals are produced by AOPs that degrades and mineralize CECs found in water and wastewater. The present study focuses on using heterogeneous nano-metallic oxide embedded activated carbon (AC) for degrading Bisphenol-A (BPA) present in the water. The catalytic ozonation process was carried out using AC/Cu2O/ZnO as the catalyst. The bimetallic catalyst was characterized using BET, XRD, FESEM, Raman Spectra, and DLS. Total organic carbon (TOC) removal was 19% higher for catalytic ozonation when compared with non-catalytic ozonation. HPLC studies found that BPA was removed by 98%. The optimal conditions for degradation were 650 µg/L, pH 8 and 60 minutes. LC-MS/LC-Q-TOF was utilized to find the degradation pathway.