Biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) were both produced from corn straw. Biochar-supported zerovalent iron (BC-ZVI) and activated carbon-supported zerovalent iron (AC-ZVI) were synthesized and applied for Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal. The sorption capacity of BC-ZVI for Se(IV) and Se(VI) was reported at 62.52 and 35.39 mg g?1, higher than that of AC-ZVI (56.02 and 33.24 mg g?1), respectively, due to its higher iron content and more positive charges. The spectroscopic analyses showed that Se(IV)/Se(VI) were reduced to Se(0)/Se(-II) of less toxicity and solubility. The effects of various factors such as pH, ionic strength, co-existing cations and anions, and natural organic matter (NOM) were also investigated. Ionic strength showed no significant effect on Se(IV)/Se(VI) removal, but pH was critical. The presence of NO3? and SO42? did not cause obvious inhibition to the removal, while PO43? inhibited the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI) significantly. Common cations (K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+) were found to slightly enhance the removal, while NOM significantly decreased the sorption capacity of BC-ZVI and AC-ZVI for Se(IV)/Se(VI). Besides, NOM showed stronger inhibition effect on AC-ZVI than that on BC-ZVI. These results indicated that BC-ZVI, compared with AC-ZVI, could be a promising sorbent to remove Se(IV)/Se(VI) due to its low cost and high efficiency.
Singlet oxygen (1O2) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) play an important role in the degradation of pollutants in surface waters. However, the mechanism underlying the photochemical generation of 1O2 and ·OH in wastewaters is poorly known. Here we studied the photo-induced generation of 1O2 and ·OH in different sewage treatment plant units. The correlation between the generation of 1O2 and ·OH and the water constituents was discussed. Our results show that in sewage units the 1O2 formation rate ranges from 2.19 × 10?8 to 6.74 × 10?8 mol L?1 s?1, and the ·OH formation rate ranges from 1.7 × 10?11 to 3.06 × 10?10 mol L?1 s?1. The average 1O2 formation rates in the various sewage units are similar to those in wetland and estuarine waters containing rich dissolved organic matter and 2–4 times higher than those in lake and seawater samples. The average ·OH formation rates of the sewage units are 5–50 times higher than for other water samples reported. The ·OH generation rate increased with the iron content with a correlation coefficient of 0.85, which indicates that the photo-Fenton reaction plays a dominant role in ·OH generation in sewage wastewater. 相似文献