N Doped Activated Biochar from Pyrolyzing Wood Powder for Prompt BPA Removal via Peroxymonosulfate Activation

In the present study, nitrogen doped biochar (N-PPB) and nitrogen doped activated biochar (AN-PPB) were prepared and used for removing bisphenol A (BPA) in water through activating peroxymonosulfate. It was found from the results that N-PPB exhibited superior catalytic performance over pristine biochar since nitrogen could brought about abundant active sites to the biochar structure. The non-radical singlet oxygen (1O2) was determined to be the dominant active species responsible for BPA degradation. Having non-radical pathway in the N-PPB/PMS system, the BPA degradation was barely influenced by many external environmental factors including solution pH value, temperature, foreign organic, and inorganic matters. Furthermore, AN-PPB had richer porosity than N-PPB, which showed even faster BPA removal efficiency than N-PPB through an adsorptive/catalytic synergy. The finding of this study introduces a novel way of designing hieratical structured biochar catalysts for effective organic pollutant removal in water.