Sustainable transformation of antibiotic fermentation residues into a novel biochar catalyst for water purification via trace peroxymonosulfate activation

To achieve both the sustainable valorization of antibiotic fermentation residues (AFR) and high-efficiency removal of organic pollutants with low-consumption, this study proposed the harmless transformation of AFR into a novel biochar catalyst for water purification by activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). Herein, we introduced a novel strategy by converting untreated AFR into a Fenton-like catalyst (AFR/BC) through the controlled coordination of intrinsic Al species with boron and oxygen via an in-situ pyrolysis-solvent method. During the AFR resourcelization process, electron-rich and electron-deficient microregions were generated through directional electron transfer facilitated by B-O-Al interactions, as confirmed by characterization techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As a result, upon activation by 0.4 mM PMS, the AFR/BC/PMS system achieved over 90 % bisphenol F (BPF) removal after 80 h of continuous treatment, demonstrating sustained purification efficacy in BPF-containing wastewater. Moreover, the system exhibited remarkable resistance to interference from a broad pH range, inorganic anions, and organic compounds. Moreover, the primary degradation pathways of BPF in this system involved both a free radical pathway (SO 4 -, ·OH and O 2 -) and a non-radical pathway ( 1 O 2 ). This study is expected to advance the sustainable utilization of AFR and contribute to the long-term development of water purification technology.