Polyacrylonitrile fiber supported nano zero-valent iron activated persulfate to degrade organophosphorus and simultaneously adsorb the produced phosphate

Degradation of organic phosphorus in water has received widespread attention. However, the synchronous recovery of generated phosphate remains a challenge. Herein, a novel nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) supported polyacrylonitrile fiber (PAN A F-Fe 0 ) was constructed to activate persulfate (PDS) for simultaneously degradation of organic P and removal of the generated phosphate. The results revealed that nZVI loading significantly increased the activation ability of PDS to degrade phenyl phosphonic acid (PPOA) with degradation rate over 99 % in 2 h, the SO 4 −• and •OH generated in the PAN A F-Fe 0 /PDS system had major contributions. Furthermore, PAN A F-Fe 0 showed a high capacity of 5.12 mg P g −1 for the removal of generated phosphate mainly via the formation of Fe-P complexes on the fiber surface. Besides, the PAN A F-Fe 0 possesses advantages of wide pH application range, remarkable anti-interference ability and excellent reusability, which provides an innovative technology of universal significance for the recovery of aquatic organic P. A novel nano zero-valent iron supported aminated polyacrylonitrile fiber (PAN A F-Fe 0 ) was prepared to activate persulfate (PDS) for simultaneously degradation of organic P and removal of the generated phosphate. The fiber shows advantages of excellent reusability, universal applicability and minimal anti-interference ability. • Nano zero-valent iron supported aminated polyacrylonitrile fiber was prepared; • The stability the PAN A F-Fe 0 can be easily adjusted by manipulating the size of the nanoparticles; • The PAN A F-Fe 0 can efficiently activate persulfate to degrade different organic phosphorus; • The PAN A F-Fe 0 can simultaneously adsorb phosphate produced by the degradation process.