Catalytic ceramic membrane integrated with granular activated carbon for efficient removal of organic pollutants

A hybrid process of catalytic ceramic membrane integrated with granular activated carbon (GAC) was proposed for removal of organic pollutants in water. By coating flat-sheet ceramic membrane with Co oxide and loading GAC into membrane channels, the integrated catalytic ceramic membrane module (MCo-GAC) with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation and GAC adsorption was successfully prepared. The decontamination performance of the MCo-GAC/PMS system was systematically investigated by using bisphenol A (BPA) as target pollutant. Excellent removal efficiency of the MCo-GAC/PMS system was achieved, and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and sulfate radicals (SO4•−) were identified as the major reactive species responsible for the degradation process. The MCo-GAC/PMS system showed strong resistance to humic acid (HA) and various anions for BPA removal. Moreover, the MCo-GAC/PMS system exhibited excellent universality for various organic pollutants, where MCo-GAC had superior stability and reusability. The integrated process provides a proposed strategy for enhancing the remediation of organic pollutants.