Advanced
oxidation process (AOP) wet scrubber is a powerful and
clean technology for organic pollutant treatment but still presents
great challenges in removing the highly toxic and hydrophobic volatile
organic compounds (VOCs). Herein, we elaborately designed a bifunctional
cobalt sulfide (CoS2)/activated carbon (AC) catalyst to
activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for efficient toxic VOC removal in
an AOP wet scrubber. By combining the excellent VOC adsorption capacity
of AC with the highly efficient PMS activation activity of CoS2, CoS2/AC can rapidly capture VOCs from the gas
phase to proceed with the SO4
•– and HO• radical-induced oxidation reaction. More
than 90% of aromatic VOCs were removed over a wide pH range (3–11)
with low Co ion leaching (0.19 mg/L). The electron-rich sulfur vacancies
and low-valence Co species were the main active sites for PMS activation.
SO4
•– was mainly responsible for
the initial oxidation of VOCs, while HO• and O2 acted in the subsequent ring-opening and mineralization processes
of intermediates. No gaseous intermediates from VOC oxidation were
detected, and the highly toxic liquid intermediates like benzene were
also greatly decreased, thus effectively reducing the health toxicity
associated with byproduct emissions. This work provided a comprehensive
understanding of the deep oxidation of VOCs via AOP wet scrubber,
significantly accelerating its application in environmental remediation.