Efficient Degradation of Printing and Dyeing Wastewater by Lotus Leaf-Based Nitrogen Self-Doped Mesoporous Biochar Activated Persulfate: Synergistic Mechanism of Adsorption and Catalysis

Abstract

The discharge of printing and dyeing wastewater has been increasing, causing serious environmental pollution with the rapid development of the industry. Based on this, an N self-doped mesoporous lotus leaf biochar (LLC800) was prepared from lotus leaves as raw material for the activation of Persulfate (PS) to degrade wastewater from printing and dyeing. The removal rate of AO7 by PS, LLC800 and LLC800/PS systems were 0.84%, 31.11% and 99.46%, respectively. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and quench tests showed the presence of free radicals (•OH, SO4●− and O2●−) and nonradical (1O2) in the LLC800/PS system, where nonradicals (1O2) play an important role in the degradation of AO7. The “N self-doped” effect formed by the high N content of lotus leaves is the main factor leading to the high adsorption and catalytic performance of lotus leaf biochar. The effect of pyrolysis temperature on the performance of biochar can be attributed to the change of N content and conformation and specific surface area in biochar. Moreover, the LLC800/PS system has a strong resistance to interference. This work can provide technical support for the preparation of high-performance adsorption-catalytic biochar and the development of high-performance activation materials for persulfate.