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

虽然人类尿液只占生活污水的1%，但它贡献了80%的氮(N)、50%的磷(P)和60%的药品。虽然将尿液分流以回收氮和磷是传统废水处理的一种有效替代方案，但去除药物也将是非常有益的。与传统的废水处理相比，有效销毁分流尿液中的药物将大大降低能源成本并提高去除效率。尿液是去除药物的一种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)作为一种治疗替代方案具有很大的前景。这项拟议的研究旨在开发基于高铁酸盐的治疗方法，用于从尿液中去除药物。该项目具有变革性，因为它代表了对联合药物去除和废水管理的传统处理系统的根本重新思考。拟议的技术将补充以整体方式回收分流尿中N和P的研究工作，以保护公众和生态系统健康，并增强国家的水安全。本研究的目标是开发基于高铁酸盐(FeVI、FeV和FeIV)的AOT，用于销毁来源分离的尿中的药物及其代谢物。建议的研究重点是阐明潜在的氧化机理和优化处理效率。为了实现这一目标，具体研究目标是：(1)调查选定的药物和代谢物在真实和合成尿液中的降解情况；(2)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；(3)确定药物和尿液成分与高铁酸盐的反应产物；(4)建立动力学模型，预测FeVI在尿液相关基质中的衰变和药物的降解；(5)验证从合成尿液基质中获得的研究结果与真实尿液基质中的研究结果；以及(6)评价药物的高铁酸盐氧化产物的毒性。还将开展与该项目有关的一系列教育活动。这些措施包括通过与德克萨斯州少数族裔机构的合作伙伴关系和佐治亚理工学院的少数族裔学生暑期研究计划来教授和招募少数族裔学生参与研究，在科学博览会活动中向K-12 STEM教师授课，根据拟议的研究开发本科生和研究生课程的教学模块，并通过出版物、全国/国际会议以及德克萨斯A&M大学新的跨学科计划在场馆广泛传播研究成果。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.