Collaborative Research: Ferrates(FeVI, FeV, and FeIV) Oxidation for Mitigation of Pharmaceutical Micropollutants in Source-Separated Urine: Underlying Mechanisms

虽然人类尿液仅占生活废水的1%，但它贡献了80%的氮（N），50%的磷（P）和60%的药物。虽然转移尿液以回收N和P已被提议作为传统废水处理的有效替代方案，但去除药物也将是非常有益的。与传统的废水处理相比，有效地销毁转移的尿液中的药物将大大减少能源成本并提高去除效率。尿液对于药物的去除是特别具有挑战性的基质。然而，最近的研究表明，含铁（高铁酸盐）的高级氧化技术（AOT）作为一种处理替代方案具有很大的前景。拟议的研究是开发高铁酸盐为基础的治疗药物从尿液中去除。该项目是变革性的，因为它代表了对传统处理系统的根本性重新思考，以实现药物去除和废水管理的结合。该技术将以整体的方式补充关于转移尿液中氮和磷回收的研究工作，以保护公众和生态系统健康，并加强国家的水安全。本研究的目的是开发基于高铁酸盐（FeVI，FeV和FeIV）的AOT，用于破坏来源分离尿液中的药物及其代谢产物。拟议研究的重点是阐明潜在的氧化机制和优化处理效率。为了实现这一目标，具体的研究目标是：（i）研究选定的药物和代谢物在真实的和合成尿液中的降解;（ii）表征高铁酸盐与药物、药物代谢物和常见尿液成分的反应机理;（iii）鉴定药物和尿液成分与高铁酸盐的反应性氧化产物;（iv）确定药物和尿液成分与高铁酸盐的反应性氧化产物。（iv）发展动力学模型，以预测尿液相关基质中FeVI的衰变和FeVI对药物的降解;（v）验证合成尿液基质与真实的尿液基质中的研究结果;以及（vi）评估高铁酸盐对药物氧化产物的毒性。还将开展一系列与该项目有关的教育活动。他们包括教学和招聘少数民族学生参与研究，通过与德克萨斯州少数民族机构和格鲁吉亚理工学院的少数民族学生暑期研究项目的合作伙伴关系，在科学博览会活动中教授K-12 STEM教师，根据拟议的研究开发本科和研究生课程的教学模块，并通过出版物广泛传播研究成果，在国家/国际会议上，该&奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Although human urine accounts for only 1% of domestic wastewater, it contributes 80% of nitrogen (N), 50% of phosphorus (P), and 60% of pharmaceuticals. While diverting urine to recover N and P has been proposed as an efficient alternative to conventional wastewater treatment, removing pharmaceuticals would also be highly beneficial. Effective destruction of pharmaceuticals in diverted urine would greatly minimize the energy costs and increase efficiency of removal compared to conventional wastewater treatment. Urine is a particularly challenging matrix for the removal of pharmaceuticals. However, recent work shows that iron (ferrate) containing advanced oxidation technology (AOT) holds great promise as a treatment alternative. The proposed research is to develop ferrate-based treatment for pharmaceutical removal from urine. The project is transformative in that it represents a fundamental re-thinking of conventional treatment systems for combined pharmaceutical removal and wastewater management. The proposed technology will complement research efforts on N and P recovery in diverted urine in a holistic manner to protect public and ecosystem health, and enhance the water security of the Nation. The goal of this study is to develop ferrate (FeVI, FeV and FeIV)-based AOT for destruction of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in source-separated urine. The focus of the proposed research is on elucidating the underlying oxidation mechanisms and optimizing treatment efficiency. To achieve this goal, the specific research objectives are to: (i) investigate the degradation of selected pharmaceuticals and metabolites in real and synthetic urines; (ii) characterize the reaction mechanisms of ferrates with pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical metabolites and common urine components; (iii) identify reactive oxidation products of pharmaceuticals and urine components with ferrates; (iv) develop kinetic models to predict decay of FeVI and degradation of pharmaceuticals by FeVI in urine related matrices; (v) validate the research results obtained from synthetic urine matrices with those in real urine matrices; and (vi) evaluate the toxicity of oxidized products of pharmaceuticals by ferrates. A range of educational activities related to this project will also be conducted. They include teaching and recruiting minority students to participate in research though partnerships with minority institutions in Texas and a minority-student summer research program at Georgia Tech, teaching K-12 STEM teachers in science fair activities, develop teaching modules for undergraduate and graduate courses based on the proposed research, and broadly disseminate research results via publications, at national/international meetings, and at venues by the new interdisciplinary program at Texas A&M.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.