Search

Photocatalytic disinfection is a promising technology with low cost and high efficiency. However, most of the current studies on photocatalytic disinfection ignore the widespread presence of natural organic matter (NOM) in water bodies, so the incomplete conclusions obtained may not be applicable. Herein, this paper systematically studied the influence of humic acid (HA), one of the most important components of NOM, on the photocatalytic inactivation of bacteriophage f2 with electrospinning Cu-TiO 2 nanofibers. We found that with the addition of HA, the light transmittance of the solution at 550 nm decreased from 94 to 60%, and the band gap of the photocatalyst was increased from 2.96 to 3.05 eV. Compared with reacting without HA, the degradation amount of RNA of f2 decreased by 88.7% after HA was added, and the RNA concentration increased from 1.95 to 4.38 ng·μL -1 after the reaction. Hence, we propose mechanisms of the effect of HA on photocatalytic disinfection: photo-shielding, passivation of photocatalysts, quenching of free radicals, and virus protection. Photo-shielding and photocatalyst passivation lead to the decrease of photocatalyst activity, and the reactive oxygen species (ROSs) (·OH, ·O 2 - , 1 O 2 , H 2 O 2 ) are further trapped by HA. The HA in water also can protect the shape of phage f2 and reduce the leakage of protein and the destruction of ribonucleic acid (RNA). This work provides an insight into the mechanisms for the influence of HA in photocatalytic disinfection process and a theoretical basis for its practical application., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Photocatalytic disinfection is a promising technology with low cost and high efficiency. However, most of the current studies on photocatalytic disinfection ignore the widespread presence of natural organic matter (NOM) in water bodies, so the incomplete conclusions obtained may not be applicable. Herein, this paper systematically studied the influence of humic acid (HA), one of the most important components of NOM, on the photocatalytic inactivation of bacteriophage f2 with electrospinning Cu-TiO2 nanofibers. We found that with the addition of HA, the light transmittance of the solution at 550 nm decreased from 94 to 60%, and the band gap of the photocatalyst was increased from 2.96 to 3.05 eV. Compared with reacting without HA, the degradation amount of RNA of f2 decreased by 88.7% after HA was added, and the RNA concentration increased from 1.95 to 4.38 ng·μL−1 after the reaction. Hence, we propose mechanisms of the effect of HA on photocatalytic disinfection: photo-shielding, passivation of photocatalysts, quenching of free radicals, and virus protection. Photo-shielding and photocatalyst passivation lead to the decrease of photocatalyst activity, and the reactive oxygen species (ROSs) (·OH, ·O2−, 1O2, H2O2) are further trapped by HA. The HA in water also can protect the shape of phage f2 and reduce the leakage of protein and the destruction of ribonucleic acid (RNA). This work provides an insight into the mechanisms for the influence of HA in photocatalytic disinfection process and a theoretical basis for its practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Pathogenic viruses in drinking water are great threats to public health. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is a promising technology for virus inactivation. However, the existing photocatalytic antiviral research studies have mostly been carried out in single-component systems, neglecting the effect of natural organic matter, which exists widely in actual water bodies. In this paper, electrospun Cu-TiO 2 nanofibers were prepared as photocatalysts, and their photocatalytic antiviral performance in the presence of humic acid (HA) was comprehensively studied for the first time. The properties of the reaction mixture were measured during the reaction. In addition, the safety, reliability and stability of photocatalytic disinfection in the mixed system were evaluated. The results showed that the virus removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the HA concentration. The type of reaction solution, such as PBS buffer solution or water, did not affect the removal efficiency noticeably. Under acidic conditions, the electrostatic forces between photocatalysts and viruses were strengthened, leading to higher virus removal efficiency. As the reaction time went on, the pH value in the solution increased first and then tended to be stable, the conductivity remained stable, and the dissolved oxygen increased first and then decreased. The safety test showed that the concentration of Cu ions released into the solution was lower than specified by the international standards. No photoreactivation was observed, and the addition of HA significantly reduced the reutilization efficiency of the photocatalysts. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) has shown excellent performance for pathogenic microorganism removal but the inactivation mechanism has not been understood clearly enough. In this study, the bacteriophage f2 removal by NZVI under aerobic and anaerobic conditions was investigated, and various factors involved in f2 removal were analyzed in detail, including the ion products of NZVI (Fe(II), Fe(III)), solid phase products, the reactive oxygen species (ROS), O 2 and H + . In addition, the morphologies of bacteriophage f2 during reaction were observed. The results showed that the removal efficiency of bacteriophage f2 was much higher under aerobic conditions than that in anaerobic systems, and oxygen and pH were determinants for f2 removal. The oxidation of Fe(II) was a fundamental step and played a significant role in bacteriophage f2 removal, especially in the aerobic systems. In the presence of oxygen, the virus removal was attributed to the generation of ROS (namely ·OH and ·O 2 − ) and the oxidized iron, in which the ROS (·OH and ·O 2 − ) made a predominant contribution. And the adsorption of iron oxide was responsible for the removal in oxygen depleted circumstance. In the anaerobic system, the virus removal was mainly attributed to the interaction between NZVI and bacteriophage f2. Besides, from the perspective of TEM images, the virus removal was mainly attributed to the damage of infective ability by NZVI at the initial stage of reaction, and later the virus was inactivated by the ROS generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Nano-Fe0 was much more efficient than commercial Fe0 in phage f2 removal. [•] The phage f2 with a lower concentration was more sensitive to acid condition. [•] The removal rate of virus increased with increase of Fe0 dose and rotation rate. [•] The removal rate decreased with the increase of pH value and virus concentration. [•] Response surface methodology was applied to optimizing the experimental parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-borne virus pollution has caused great harm and attracted widespread attention in many countries. Visible-light-driven photocatalysis is considered as a promising process for disinfection. In this study, Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 (AgCN) composites were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic disinfection was investigated using bacteriophage f2 as the model virus. Moreover, the effects of pH and humic acid on photocatalytic disinfection were studied. Meanwhile, the mechanism of enhanced disinfection by Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 was systematically investigated by radical scavenger experiments. The results show that Ag3PO4 particles were uniformly distributed on g-C3N4 sheets. By means of photoluminescence spectrometer analysis, it is confirmed that a lower carrier recombination rate for Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 was achieved compared with Ag3PO3 and g-C3N4. Meanwhile, complete inactivation of f2 with concentration of 3 × 106 PFU/mL was reached within 80 min in the presence of Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 composite. The pH had little effect on removal efficiency overall, while the existence of humic acid resulted in a significant negative effect on the inactivation of f2 due to the optical shielding and absorption of humic acid. Recycling tests of Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 confirmed that Ag3PO4/g-C3N4 presented superior stability. The results from radical scavenger experiments indicated that holes (h+) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) played important roles in photocatalytic disinfection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbiological safety of drinking water is an important public health matter. Even if the content of viruses in drinking water is very low, it can pose a threat to human health. The photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) is a hybrid reactor in which photocatalysis is coupled with a membrane process, and is a promising technology to inactivate viruses and other microorganisms. In this study, the virus removal efficiency and mechanism in an integrated PMR system was evaluated. Bacteriophage f2 (mean size of 25 ± 1 nm), which is similar in size to the human enteric virus, was used as the model virus. The influences of filtration flux and permeation mode were tested with a continuous flow. The optimum operating conditions of PMR were determined to be intermittent suction mode with 40 L/(m 2 h) or greater of the filtration flux. PMR removed more than 5 log of phage f2 on average after 24 h of continuous operation (f2 in feed tank was 5.22 log). The f2 was primarily inactivated during the photocatalysis process, and the membrane served mainly as a barrier. The mechanism of f2 inactivation during photocatalysis process was investigated. Among the three kinds of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the hydroxyl radicals ( OH) was important for the inactivation of f2, which was collected through the reaction of electron vacancy – “hole” (h + ) and H 2 O. Compared with h + , electron (e − ) showed a stronger inactivation effect of f2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nano zero valent iron (nZVI) is an efficient environmental remediation material, but it is easy to be oxidized and agglomerated, which limits its application in the environment. In this paper, bacterial cellulose membrane was used as a carrier material to reduce three different concentrations of ferrous ions by in-situ liquid-phase reduction method using sodium borohydride, and three kinds of bacterial cellulose membrane loaded with nanometer zero valent iron (BC-nZVI) samples were successfully prepared. The physical and chemical properties of BC-nZVI before and after the reaction were characterized by SEM, XRD and XPS. The effects of pH, dose and reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the inactivation of bacteriophage MS2 were studied. The results showed that nano-zerovalent iron was successfully loaded on the bacterial cellulose membrane. The particle size of nZVI particles loaded in BC-nZVI was about 200 nm under the condition of low ferrous sulfate, effectively alleviating the agglomeration phenomenon. And the inactivation efficiency of BC-nZVI on MS2 has been improved, reaching 4 log in 5 min. BC-nZVI showed two stages of inactivation characteristics, the first stage was 5 min to achieve 4 log high-efficiency inactivation stage, the second stage was the follow-up slow inactivation stage. At different pH value, the removal rate of MS2 by BC-nZVI increased with the increase of pH value, which was different from that of nZVI. The radical scavenger experiments showed that the main factor affecting the removal rate of MS2 in the first stage was •O 2 −, followed by Fe (IV), while the effect of •OH was not significant. In the second stage, the main influencing factors was •OH. Under alkaline condition, the yield of •O 2 − was increased, the reaction time was prolonged, and the deactivation rate of MS2 was increased. These results provide new ideas for the practical application of nZVI in the treatment of pathogenic microorganisms. We synthesize a bacterial cellulose supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (BC-nZVI). The three-dimensional network structure and nanoscale fibers of bacterial cellulose membranes can be used as templates for composite inorganic nanomaterials, and can protect and restrict the formation of nanoparticles in space, preventing the formation of nanoparticles via agglomeration to a certain extent, and avoiding the problems of inorganic nanomaterials, which are difficult to retain as well as to recycle. The material can effectively improve the inactivation efficiency of MS2, and the removal efficiency of MS2 can reach 4 log after 5 min of reaction. Image 1 • BC-nZVI was successfully synthesized to inactivate bacteriophage MS2. • BC NZVI can effectively inactivate MS2 in a short time. • BC NZVI can effectively inactivate MS2 at pH 5–9. • •O 2 −, Fe (IV) and •OH radicals play a major role in the process of inactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]