Highly efficient catalysts of polyoxometalates supported on biochar for antibiotic wastewater treatment: Performance and mechanism

Norfloxacin (NOR), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and tetracycline (TC) are antibiotics with high residuals in water, which lead to serious bacterial resistance and affect not only the ecological environment but also human health. In this study, heterogeneous polyoxometalate (POM) catalysts of CoPMoV/C was synthesized by cobalt salt, H4PMo11VO40 (PMoV), and biochar from corn stover and then used for activating peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to degrade NOR, SMX, and TC. The strong oxidizing property of PMoV greatly improved the degradation of antibiotics. The optimum removal rate of the CoPMoV/C/PMS system was up to 99.6%, 99.0%, and 100% for NOR, SMX, and TC, respectively. The effectiveness of the reaction system is confirmed by assessing the toxicity of degradation products.