Palygorskite-supported nano zero-valent iron - a bisphenol: A degradation study

Novel palygorskite-supported nano zero-valent iron composite materials prepared by evaporative and centrifuge methods were tested for the degradation of bisphenol A in an aqueous medium. Pristine nano zero-valent iron has little effect on bisphenol A degradation. However, when hydrogen peroxide was added, some percentage of bisphenol A removal (~20 %) was achieved; with the aid of dissolved air, the percentage removal can be significantly increased to ~99 %. Compared with pristine nano zero-valent iron and commercial iron powder, The composite materials have much higher reactivity towards bisphenol A and these materials are superior as they have little impact on the solution pH, which is a key factor in maintaining high bisphenol A removal. The optimum conditions were obtained based on a series of batch experiments