title: Lactate oxidation in pyrite suspension: a Fenton-like process in situ generating H2O2.
abstract: Pyrite is a common mineral at many mining sites. In this study, the mineral pyrite was studied as a Fenton-like reagent for environmental concerns. We selected lactate as a model target molecule to evaluate the Fenton-like catalytic efficiency of pyrite upon organic oxidation. A complete set of control experiments in both aerobic and anaerobic atmospheres unequivocally established that the pyrite in aqueous solution could spontaneously in situ generate (·)OH and H(2)O(2), serving as a Fenton-like reagent to catalyze the oxidation of lactate to pyruvate with no need for additional H(2)O(2). We called it the pyrite-only Fenton-like (PF) reagent. Monitoring concentration changes of lactate and pyruvate with the time indicated that the pyrite mediated the favorable pyruvate formation at pH 4.5, 60 °C, under air atmosphere. The PF reaction could be stimulated by visible light illumination. Under the optimum conditions, up to 50% of lactate was degraded within 10d. The results suggest that pyrite and its Fenton-like processes may be potentially practical in wastewater treatment.
authors.affiliation: CCMST, Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080, China. wwang_ol@hit.edu.cn
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Youpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C045076:Fenton's reagent; D013440:Sulfides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C011342:pyrite; D019344:Lactic Acid; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D007501:Iron