Fe-Mo bimetal-modified catalytic ceramic membrane enabling Fenton reaction for highly efficient removal of micropollutants from water

The integration of heterogenous Fenton reaction with membrane filtration has emerged as an effective technology for removing micropollutants from water. In this study, a novel bimetallic Fe Mo oxide (FeMoO)-modified catalytic ceramic membrane (CM) was fabricated, enabling continuous Fenton reaction for micropollutant removal and membrane fouling mitigation. By coating the FeMoO catalyst hybridized with NH 2 -MIL-88B(Fe) (NM88B) on the CM, i.e., FeMoO/NM88B@CM, a catalytic layer ~24 μm in thickness was formed on the membrane to provide abundant active sites for H 2 O 2 activation during the filtration process. FeMoO/NM88B@CM with H 2 O 2 dosing exhibited a remarkable treatment performance, achieving 98.5 % degradation of moxifloxacin (MOX) within 3.1 min of single-pass water filtration, greatly surpassing the 16.8 % removal by FeMoO/NM88B@CM without H 2 O 2 dosing and 16.2 % removal by bare CM with H 2 O 2 dosing. The FeMoO/NM88B@CM/H 2 O 2 system also performed exceptionally well in treating actual secondary wastewater effluent, removing more than 60 % of the residual organics while mitigating the membrane fouling problem. In addition, the catalytic membrane filtration demonstrated its high effectiveness in degrading various micropollutants, in the presence of complex water matrix substances, and during long-term operation. Hydroxyl (‧OH) and superoxide (‧O 2 − ) radicals were identified as the active species generated by the catalytic membrane for organic oxidation and membrane fouling control. It is considered that H 2 O 2 -induced Mo(VI)/Mo(IV) cycle of the immobilized Fe Mo bimetallic catalyst played a crucial role in driving the essential Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox cycle for continuous regeneration of Fe(II) and heterogeneous Fenton oxidation. The research findings provide valuable insights into the fabrication and potent functionality of catalytic ceramic membranes in high-rate removal of micropollutants for water pollution control.