Preparation of durable β-FeOOH nanorods/polyester fabric composites and their efficient dual function in water purification

The rapid development of China in the past 30 a has caused severe damage to the environment, especially to water resources, which seriously threatens the ecological balance and human health. In particular, the accretion of industrial oily/soluble, highly toxic wastewater is an urgent environmental problem that needs to be solved in the process of water purification. However, it remains a serious challenge to produce materials that can separate oil/water and degrade organic pollutants simultaneously. In this study, durable β-FeOOH nanorods/polyester fabric composites were fabricated to solve the above problems. The oil/water mixture was separated, and the soluble organic pollutants in water were degraded in situ. The experimental results showed that the oil/water separation efficiency and the removal rate of highly toxic and soluble organic pollutants from water were over 99% and 90%, respectively. After multiple cycles of degradation experiments and accelerated washing experiments, the oil/water separation efficiency and the removal rate of toxic organics remained unchanged. (authors)