Degradation of Micropollutants in Water and Sewage Sludge Samples by Potassium Ferrate

摘要

The presence of micropollutants such as nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO) and nonylphenol (NP) in sewage sludge has grown substantially. These micropollutants can be released into soil and water environments through the land application of the sludge. Consequently, this has the potential risk to human populations and ecosystems. Potassium ferrate (K_2FeO_4) has been known to be a powerful and environmentally friendly oxidant. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of potassium ferrate dosage on the degradation of NP1EO and NP in water and digested sewage sludge samples. The initial concentrations of NP1EO and NP were set to 100 μg/L and 1 mg/L in the water samples, and the NP content of the digested sewage sludge sample was 1 mg/kg. Potassium ferrate has shown promising performance with the removal efficiency of NP1EO of 80% in water samples under 3 hours at ferrate (Fe(VI)) dosage of 1 mg/L. The removal efficiencies of NP were 97% in water samples at ferrate dosage of 2 mg/L and around 58% in digested sewage sludge sample at ferrate dosage of 0.5 g/L. This study demonstrates that potassium ferrate has a potential to degrade NP1EO and NP in water and digested sewage sludge samples.