Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 as an efficient catalyst for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater: Characteristics, efficiency, and mechanism

It is important to develop a catalyst that has high catalytic activity and can improve the degradation efficiency of refractory organic pollutants in the catalytic ozonation process. In this study, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 was synthesised via impregnation calcination for catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater. The physical and chemical characteristics of the catalysts were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller nitrogen adsorption–desorption methods. The effects of catalyst dosage, pH, and reflux ratio on the degradation efficiency of wastewater were examined in laboratory-scale experiments. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of bio-treated coking wastewater was estimated to be 52.76 % under optimal conditions. The experiments on the catalytic mechanism demonstrated that the surface hydroxyl formed by the Lewis acid sites on the surface of the catalyst can react with ozone as the active site forming the active oxygen (·OH, ·O2–, and 1O2), thereby efficiently degrading the organic pollutants in coking wastewater. Furthermore, a pilot-scale experiment on the catalytic ozonation of bio-treated coking wastewater was carried out using an Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst, while the effects of the initial pollutant concentration, ozone concentration, and gas flow on the COD removal rate were studied on a pilot scale. It was found that the COD removal rate of the wastewater was ∼ 60 % under optimal parameters. After the treatment, the wastewater steadily reached the coking wastewater discharge standard (COD < 80 mg/L), while the operating cost of catalytic ozonation reached ∼ 0.032$/m3, thereby paving the way toward economic engineering applications. The COD degradation kinetics in the bio-treated coking wastewater followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Three-dimensional fluorescence and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed that macromolecular organic pollutants in the bio-treated coking wastewater were greatly degraded. In summary, Fe-Mn-Cu-Ce/Al2O3 exhibited good reusability, high catalytic activity, and low cost and has a wide application prospect in the treatment of coking wastewater.