Optimization of a Water Purification System Based on Manganese Oxide-Coated Activated Carbon by MnO2@AC Nano-Catalyst Formation for Water Decontamination Based on Sulfate Radical-Derived Degradation

This study aims to evaluate the catalytic activity of manganese oxide (MnO2) in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on the generation of sulfate radicals  (SO4•-) on an activated carbon (AC) substrate. This research demonstrates dual
degradation mechanism, based on ‘bait, hook and destroy’ theory (Alvarez et al. 2018), while the AC can attract organic pollutants close to its surface, thereby enabling the SO4•- to degrade them efficiently. The objective of this work was to determine which conditions are optimal for producing a stable and efficient and robust MnO2@AC catalyst, as well as the effect the synthesis procedure on
catalytic performance. A comparison of two different coating methods showed that a two-step coating method is more efficient. In addition, a thermal post treatment was examined and proved to have only a negligible influence on the catalytic activity performance. If implemented in the water purification industry, this method can prove to be more cost and time effective, but more research is required.