The electro-Fenton/sulfite process with Fe-Mn bimetallic catalyst for diclofenac degradation at neutral pH

The application of bimetallic catalysts in heterogeneous electro-Fenton (Hetero-EF) is limited due to its poor performance over a wide pH range. In this work, the Hetero-EF/sulfite process was constructed with FeMn@C as the catalyst to improve the degradation of pollutants under neutral pH. The removal efficiency of diclofenac (DCF) (97.8%) was significantly higher than that of Hetero-EF (15.0%) at pH 7, in which the degradation rate constant k was increased by 19.75 times. The existence and transformation process of various active species (•OH, SO4•-, O2•-, and 1O2) in the process were verified by capture experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) test. The possible DCF degradation pathway was also proposed. The introduction of sulfite could reduce Fe3+ and Mn3+, promote the Fe(II)/Fe(III) and Mn(II)/Mn(III) cycles, strengthen the generation of active species, and thus promote the degradation of pollutants. The removal efficiency was still maintained 76.6% after five cycles. The Hetero-EF/sulfite process is a simple, feasible, and efficient method to degrade pollutants, which has a broad application prospect.