Rational design of groundwater treatment sludge into visible-light-driven photocatalyst with carbon nitride

Kingsley I. John; Touma B Issa; Aleks Nikoloski; Goen Ho; Dan Li

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126884

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Rational design of groundwater treatment sludge into visible-light-driven photocatalyst with carbon nitride

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Rational design of groundwater treatment sludge into visible-light-driven photocatalyst with carbon nitride

Kingsley I. John, Touma B Issa, Aleks Nikoloski, Goen Ho and Dan Li

Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.393, 126884

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126884

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Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride, Metal, Water treatment sludge, Composite, Photocatalysis

Environmental engineering

Wastewater treatment processes

Water treatment processes

Environmentally sustainable commercial services and tourism not elsewhere classified

Management of liquid waste from commercial services and tourism (excl. water)

Water and waste services

For the first time, groundwater treatment sludge was integrated with g-C3N4 towards highly efficient and cost-effective visible-light-initiated catalysts for organic removal. The optimized sample of g-C3N4/GWS-M(2.5 %), which was synthesized using the sludge rich in Al and Fe, was explored with improved photocatalytic activity. Its photocatalytic performance was ∼6, 4, and 7 times that of g-C3N4 in terms of removal of methyl orange, cephalexin, and ketoprofen, respectively. The observed greater photocatalytic activity was attributed to its upgraded physicochemical properties, including specific surface area, porous structure, visible light absorption, charge separation and transfer. In particular, the co-existence of dominant Al and Fe dopants in g-C3N4/GWS-M(2.5 %) aided abstraction of photogenerated charge carriers. After photocatalytic reaction, only 0.02 % and 0.01 % loss of Al and Fe was observed from the catalyst, respectively. A superior organic removal (∼92 %) was still observed by using g-C3N4/GWS-M(2.5 %) with no change in its crystal and chemical structures at the 5th cycle of photocatalytic degradation. The primary reactive species responsible for the reaction were inferred to be the superoxide and singlet oxygen radicals.

Details

Title: Rational design of groundwater treatment sludge into visible-light-driven photocatalyst with carbon nitride
Authors/Creators: Kingsley I. John (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
Touma B Issa (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University, School of Engineering and Energy
Aleks Nikoloski (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
Goen Ho (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University, School of Engineering and Energy
Dan Li (Author/Creator)
Publication Details: Journal of Environmental Management, Vol.393, 126884
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
Identifiers: 991005801650107891
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Engineering and Energy; Centre for Water, Energy and Waste
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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