Degradation of Tetracycline in Polluted Wastewater by Persulfate over Copper Alginate/Graphene Oxide Composites

Due to public concern about tetracycline (TC), it is imperative to eliminate this compound from the environment. This article describes the preparation of an efficient and low-cost porous copper alginate/graphene oxide (CA/GO) composite material by freeze-drying. The application of tetracycline removal in the presence of persulfate (PS) was studied. The effects of pH, PS, catalyst dosage and tetracycline concentration on adsorption and degradation were investigated. The synthesized composites were characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The degradation rate of tetracycline increases with the increase of the compound dose, and decreases with the increase of the initial pH. The adsorption of tetracycline by this catalyst is suitable for Langmuir model. Under the optimum conditions, the removal efficiency of tetracycline was up to 98%. The high reactivity of the composite material is closely related to its redox ability. At the same time, the reusability of the material was studied. After being recycled four times under the same conditions, the removal rate of tetracycline reached about 85%.