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Sulfur-Doped Graphene-Activated Perdisulfate for Synergetic Destruction of Bisphenol A and Complex Microbial Flora

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Abstract

The advanced oxidation process of perdisulfate (PDS) presents strong oxidation ability for different kinds of industrial wastewater treatments. Graphene is a stable and loss-free PDS catalyst that can be doped using S atoms to improve the catalytic activity of PDS. Thus, sulfur-doped graphene (S@RGO) was prepared and applied to catalyze PDS for bisphenol A (BPA) and complex microbial flora destruction given the threat of both refractory organism and complex microbial flora. The characterization indicated that S doping is beneficial to increase the defect degree of graphene and enhance the catalytic activity. BPA can be degraded rapidly without disturbance of complex microbial flora during the reaction. Fluorescent substances, proteins and polysaccharides in different layers of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and even the tightly-bound extracellular polymeric substances TB-EPS layer closely bound to the microbial flour can be decomposed and result in the breakdown of microbial flora without the protection of EPS. Leaching of LDH and DNA confirmed the destruction of cell membrane for microbial flora breakdown. Dominant microbial floras of Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Nitrospirae, and Acidobacteria were effectively destroyed. The mechanism analysis indicated that not only strong free radicals (SO4−·, ·OH and 1O2) contributed to the disintegration of EPS skeleton and inactivation of microbial flour and electron transference among “S@RGO-PDS-complex microbial flora” is also a critical factor. The synergetic system of S@RGO/PDS showed high application potential as a complicated wastewater treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 51978291, Fujian province Science and Technology project Foundation (2021J01311, 2022I0030), Xiamen Science and Technology project Foundation (3502Z20226012) and Scientific Research Funds of Huaqiao University. The authors would like to acknowledge the Testing center of Huaqiao University for the TEM and LC-MS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemical Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Qian Zhang, Teng-fei Hu & Jun-ming Hong

  2. Xiamen Engineering Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Biochemical Treatment, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Qian Zhang, Teng-fei Hu & Jun-ming Hong

  3. Fujian Provincial Research Center of Industrial Wastewater Biochemical Treatment, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Qian Zhang, Teng-fei Hu & Jun-ming Hong

  4. Xiamen Research Academy of Environmental Science, Xiamen, China

    Zhi Huang & Yanying Liu

  5. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Jun-ming Hong

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  1. Qian Zhang
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Correspondence to Jun-ming Hong.

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Zhang, Q., Hu, Tf., Huang, Z. et al. Sulfur-Doped Graphene-Activated Perdisulfate for Synergetic Destruction of Bisphenol A and Complex Microbial Flora. Catal Lett 153, 2057–2073 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-022-04133-w

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