Activation of peroxymonosulfate with biochar-supported CuO (CuO@BC) for natural organic matter removal and membrane fouling control

To achieve excellent activation efficiency of peroxymonosulfate (PMS), this work prepared a biochar-supported CuO (CuO@BC) catalyst, and the CuO@BC/PMS system was proposed to remove the organic matter in natural surface water and reduce the fouling of ultrafiltration membrane. The successful synthesis of CuO@BC was demonstrated through characterization of its microscopic morphology and chemical composition by various techniques. The prepared heterogeneous catalyst showed a strong catalytic effect on PMS, which significantly removed natural organic matter through the production of active substances ( • OH, SO 4 •− , O 2 •− and 1 O 2 ) from water. With respective degradation rates of 39.4% and 59.4%, the concentrations of DOC and UV 254 dropped to 1.702 mg/L and 0.026 cm −1 , respectively. Additionally, the CuO@BC/PMS oxidation displayed potent oxidation capabilities for contaminants and fluorescent organics with various molecular weights . The system effectively decreased the amount of organic matter that caused reversible and irreversible fouling of polyethersulfone membranes in natural water by 85.8% and 56.3%, respectively. The main fouling mechanisms changed as well, with standard and complete blocking dominating the entire filtration process. The results demonstrated the capacity of the CuO@BC/PMS system to remove contaminants in natural water and mitigate membrane fouling.