Fe/Ca-modified plastic char derived from waste plastics toward peroxymonosulfate activation for efficient bisphenol A degradation

Conventional plastic waste management through landfilling and incineration not only consumes vast land resources but also emits hazardous compounds, severely endangering ecosystems. An emergent and promising solution is the conversion of this waste into functional carbon-based materials for water purification, enabling sustainable reuse. Herein, four kinds of plastics were pyrolyzed to char doped with Fe and Ca for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to degrade bisphenol A (BPA). The doped char exhibited highly effective adsorption and catalytic capabilities for BPA removal. Fe-doping enhanced the adsorptive removal of BPA by increasing the specific surface area and adsorption sites of the char. The Fe/Ca co-doped catalyst achieved 94.1 % BPA removal within 10 min, while the Ca components effectively reduced post-reaction SO 4 2- accumulation, mitigating secondary ionic pollution. Quenching experiments and EPR analyses confirmed the generation of SO 4 – ·, ·OH, ·O 2 – and 1 O 2 , indicating the coexistence of radical and non-radical oxidation pathways. Moreover, the waste-plastic-derived char with Fe/Ca also exhibited a high BPA removal efficiency of 81.2 %, and the residual toxicity of BPA was markedly reduced after degradation. This study proposes a novel strategy that synergistically combines resource recycling with pollutant removal.