Effective degradation of synthetic micropollutants and real textile wastewater via a visible light-activated persulfate system using novel spinach leaf-derived biochar

Abstract A novel biochar (BC), derived from spinach leaves, was utilized as an activator for persulfate (PS) in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light conditions. Thorough analyses were conducted to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the biochar. The (BC + light)/PS system exhibited superior MB degradation efficiency at 83.36%, surpassing the performance of (BC + light)/hydrogen peroxide and (BC + light)/peroxymonosulfate systems. The optimal conditions were ascertained through the implementation of response surface methodology. Moreover, the (BC + light)/PS system demonstrated notable degradation ratios of 90.82%, 81.88%, and 84.82% for bromothymol blue dye, paracetamol, and chlorpyrifos, respectively, under optimal conditions. The predominant reactive species responsible for MB degradation were identified as sulfate radicals. Notably, the proposed system consistently achieved high removal efficiencies of 99.02%, 96.97%, 94.94%, 92%, and 90.35% for MB in five consecutive runs. The applicability of the suggested system was further validated through its effectiveness in treating real textile wastewater, exhibiting a substantial MB removal efficiency of 98.31% and dissolved organic carbon mineralization of 87.49%.