Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery
Abstract The unique properties of nanomaterials offer vast opportunities to advance sustainable processes. Incidental nanoparticles (INPs) represent a significant part of nanomaterials, yet their potential for sustainable applications remains largely untapped. Herein, we developed a simple strategy...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55625-9 |
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| author | Zhichao Yang Yuyang Yin Mengyuan Liang Wanyi Fu Jiahe Zhang Fangzhou Liu Wen Zhang Bingcai Pan |
| author_facet | Zhichao Yang Yuyang Yin Mengyuan Liang Wanyi Fu Jiahe Zhang Fangzhou Liu Wen Zhang Bingcai Pan |
| author_sort | Zhichao Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The unique properties of nanomaterials offer vast opportunities to advance sustainable processes. Incidental nanoparticles (INPs) represent a significant part of nanomaterials, yet their potential for sustainable applications remains largely untapped. Herein, we developed a simple strategy to harness INPs to upgrade the waste-to-resource paradigm, significantly reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Using the recycling of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) as a proof of concept, we reveal that incidental iron oxide nanoclusters confined inside the residual carbon trigger Fenton-like catalysis by contacting H2O2 at circumneutral pH (5.0–7.0). This approach efficiently detoxifies the adsorbed dioxins under ambient conditions, which otherwise relies on energy-intensive thermal methods in the developed recovery paradigms. Collective evidence underlines that the uniform distribution of iron oxide nanoclusters within dioxin-enriched nanopores enhances the collision between the generated active oxidants and dioxins, resulting in a substantially higher detoxification efficiency than the Fe(II)-induced bulk Fenton reaction. Efficient and cost-effective detoxification of MSWI fly ash at 278‒288 K at pilot scale, combined with the satisfactory removal of adsorbed chemicals in other solid wastes unlocks the great potential of incidental nanoparticles in upgrading the process of solid waste utilization and other sustainable applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-464ef2aaefec437bbf18c4433e1e725b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-464ef2aaefec437bbf18c4433e1e725b2025-01-05T12:39:22ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111110.1038/s41467-024-55625-9Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recoveryZhichao Yang0Yuyang Yin1Mengyuan Liang2Wanyi Fu3Jiahe Zhang4Fangzhou Liu5Wen Zhang6Bingcai Pan7State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing UniversityNanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environment and Ecology of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing UniversityJohn A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King BlvdJohn A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King BlvdJohn A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King BlvdState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing UniversityAbstract The unique properties of nanomaterials offer vast opportunities to advance sustainable processes. Incidental nanoparticles (INPs) represent a significant part of nanomaterials, yet their potential for sustainable applications remains largely untapped. Herein, we developed a simple strategy to harness INPs to upgrade the waste-to-resource paradigm, significantly reducing the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Using the recycling of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) as a proof of concept, we reveal that incidental iron oxide nanoclusters confined inside the residual carbon trigger Fenton-like catalysis by contacting H2O2 at circumneutral pH (5.0–7.0). This approach efficiently detoxifies the adsorbed dioxins under ambient conditions, which otherwise relies on energy-intensive thermal methods in the developed recovery paradigms. Collective evidence underlines that the uniform distribution of iron oxide nanoclusters within dioxin-enriched nanopores enhances the collision between the generated active oxidants and dioxins, resulting in a substantially higher detoxification efficiency than the Fe(II)-induced bulk Fenton reaction. Efficient and cost-effective detoxification of MSWI fly ash at 278‒288 K at pilot scale, combined with the satisfactory removal of adsorbed chemicals in other solid wastes unlocks the great potential of incidental nanoparticles in upgrading the process of solid waste utilization and other sustainable applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55625-9 |
| spellingShingle | Zhichao Yang Yuyang Yin Mengyuan Liang Wanyi Fu Jiahe Zhang Fangzhou Liu Wen Zhang Bingcai Pan Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery Nature Communications |
| title | Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| title_full | Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| title_fullStr | Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| title_short | Incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined Fenton-like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| title_sort | incidental iron oxide nanoclusters drive confined fenton like detoxification of solid wastes towards sustainable resource recovery |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55625-9 |
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