Copper ferrite modified catalytic ceramic membrane for effective pollutant degradation and membrane fouling alleviation: The coupling of peroxymonosulfate activation and membrane filtration

In this study, a copper ferrite decorated ceramic membrane (CFCM) for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation was synthesized, and the dual function of catalytic oxidation and membrane filtration on organics removal and fouling mitigation was systematically investigated. Characterization results demonstrated that the catalyst particles were uniformly anchored throughout the whole membrane. The catalytic membrane exhibited significantly improved bisphenol A (BPA) degradation and humic acid (HA) retention compared to the conventional CM filtration. SO4− and 1O2 were considered to be the main reactive species for BPA removal in the CFCM/PMS system by quenching experiments and EPR tests, and two possible degradation pathways were proposed. CFCM/PMS filtration showed superior antifouling property with reduced reversible and irreversible fouling resistances. Membrane performance evaluation in BPA-HA removal showed that the competition of HA for reactive radicals and the coverage of catalytic active sites by HA could lead to the decrease of BPA removal while the cake layer formed on membrane surface would increase HA retention. In addition, stable catalytic activity after 8 cycles, high removal efficiency for various organic pollutants and low metals leaching revealed the excellent applicability of CFCM in wastewater treatments.