Highly Efficient Activation of Peroxymonosulphate by Co and Cu Co-Doped Sawdust Biochar for Ultra-Fast Removal of Bisphenol A

The rapid, efficient, and thorough degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA) is challenging. In this study, we prepared an effective peroxymonosulphate (PMS) activation catalyst derived from sawdust containing calcium carbonate. The Co and Cu co-doped sawdust biochar (CoO/CuO@CBC) catalyst could activate PMS quickly, and the degradation rate of BPA reached 99.3% in 5 min, while the rate constant was approximately 30 times higher than in the CBC/PMS and CoCuOx/PMS systems. Moreover, the interaction between CoO, CuO, and CBC endows the CoO/CuO@CBC catalyst with excellent catalytic performance under different conditions, such as initial pH, temperature, water matrix, inorganic anions, and humic acid, which maintained fast PMS activation via the cyclic transformation of Cu and Co for BPA degradation. The results demonstrated that both the radical (•O2− and •SO4−) and non-radical (1O2) pathways participate in the degradation of BPA in the CoO/CuO@CBC/PMS system. The efficient and stable degradation over a wide range of pH, temperature, and aqueous matrices indicates the potential application of the CoO/CuO@CBC catalyst.