Characterization of ferromagnetic sludge-based activated carbon and its application in catalytic ozonation of p-chlorobenzoic acid

In order to solve the separation problem of powdered sludge-based activated carbon (SAC), a series of novel ferromagnetic sludge-based activated carbons (FMSACs, with different iron content 2.3, 4.3, and 9.5 wt%) with a good magnetic separation ability were prepared through co-precipitation method in this study. The structure and physicochemical properties of FMSACs and their catalytic ozonation performance on the removal of p-chlorobenzoic acid (p-CBA) were investigated. The saturation magnetization (Ms) of FMSACs was determined in the range of 0.3674–5.7992 emu g−1, and experiments confirmed that these FMSACs could be easily separated by magnetic fields. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that magnetite and maghemite were the main magnetic phases in FMSACs. Comparing with ozonation alone and SAC catalytic ozonation, the presence of 2.3 wt% – FMSAC improved the degradation of p-CBA during catalytic ozonation from 44 and 70 to 80%. The tertiary butanol inhibition experiment indicated that FMSACs catalytic ozonation process followed hydroxyl radical reaction mechanism. Furthermore, after six repetitive catalytic ozonation runs, 2.3 wt% – FMSAC still showed relatively high catalytic activity for the removal of p-CBA. Consequently, the novel FMSACs with magnetic separation ability and catalytic performance provide a practical pathway for the sludge utilization.