Natural pyrrhotite with different crystal forms activating PDS for the degradation of Rhodamine B prevalent in industrial wastewater: Performance differences and mechanisms

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the difference and mechanism of the degradation of Rhodamine B by hexagonal natural pyrrhotite (HNP, Fe_0.93S) and monoclinic natural pyrrhotite (MNP, Fe_0.85S) activating peroxydisulfate (PDS). The results show that the degradation efficiency of MNP/PDS system was higher than that of HNP/PDS system under both acidic and weak alkaline conditions, and both decreased with the increase of pH. The better degradation efficiency was related to the higher dissolved iron concentration of MNP/PDS system and the stronger surface reactivity of MNP. Among them, the surface reactivity was recognized as dominant, namely, the degradation reaction mainly occurred on and near the surface of natural pyrrhotite (NP). The strong surface reactivity of MNP was first reflected in the higher Zeta potential, so that the electrostatic attraction between MNP and PDS was greater. This meant that PDS was more easily activated by MNP. Secondly, the MNP possessed higher surface oxidation degree and higher corrosion current density, which contributed to the heterogeneous activation of PDS by Fe(II) and the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) (or Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺) by surface reductive sulfur species (such as S²⁻ and S₂²⁻) as electron donors. Moreover, the loose oxide layer on the MNP surface was easy to fall off during the degradation process, and new surface reaction sites are re-exposed.

Keywords

natural pyrrhotite / different crystal forms / Rhodamine B / peroxydisulfate / degradation

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