Decomplexation of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation assisted with heavy metal chelation for advanced treatment of coordination complexes of Ni

Following the conventional physicochemical treatment of electroless nickel (Ni) plating wastewater (ENPW) in electroplating wastewater treatment plants, highly stable and recalcitrant coordination complexes of Ni (CCN) still remain. This results in various technical problems, leading to the treatment difficulty, poor wastewater biochemistry, and failure to meet effluent standards. Therefore, an efficient decomplexation system involving heterogeneous catalytic ozonation assisted with heavy metal chelation (O-3/SAO3II-MDCR) was proposed in this study for the advanced treatment of CCN. The catalyst SAO3II was characterized by various methods, which revealed the mechanism of catalytic ozonation. Hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) groups were detected, proving that catalytic ozonation was a complicated reaction process and also a foundation process of the entire system. These ROS are vital for decomplexation via heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of the system. During the catalytic decomplexation process via ozonation, CCN first underwent gradual decomposition from a highly stable macromolecular state to a volatile micromolecular state (or even completely mineralized state). Then Ni was chelated to form an insoluble and stable chelate via competitive coordination. The optimum conditions for the O-3/SAO3II-MDCR system were determined by single factor static experiments. After treatment with the O-3/SAO3II-MDCR system, the effluent concentration of total Ni was found to be <0.1 mg L-1, exhibiting a removal rate of up to 95.6% and achieving effective removal of total Ni from ENPW and stably meeting the discharge standard. O-3/SAO3II-MDCR system can easily and hopefully be extended to practical engineering applications.