Kinetic insights on wet peroxide oxidation of caffeine using EDTA-functionalized low-cost catalysts prepared from compost generated in municipal solid waste treatment facilities

Nowadays, sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste is typically treated by anaerobic digestion processes, resulting therein a solid stream, further processed to obtain compost, whose production is higher than the existing demand as fertilizer. The current work proposes an alternative strategy for the recovering of compost through the production of low-cost catalysts by calcination (1073 K) and sulfuric acid treatments, followed by sequential functionalization with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Activity and stability of the catalysts are assessed in the wet peroxide oxidation of synthetic wastewater effluents contaminated with caffeine, a model micro-pollutant, achieving its complete removal after 6 h at 353–383 K and catalyst loads of 0.5–2.5 g L−1. The increase of the catalytic activity of the materials upon functionalization with TEOS and EDTA is demonstrated and a kinetic modeling of caffeine degradation and hydrogen peroxide consumption with the best catalyst is assessed by pseudo-first power-law rate equations. [Display omitted] •Catalysts are prepared from matured compost.•Catalytic activity is enhanced by functionalization with EDTA.•A stable EDTA-functionalized catalyst is developed.•Caffeine, as model micro-pollutant, is completely removed from aqueous solutions.•The kinetics of CWPO of caffeine is modeled.