Researchers developed an ozone and percarbonate oxidation system that cuts carbon emissions from treating concentrated aromatic wastewater by 40.2 percent compared with conventional hydrogen peroxide setups, according to a study published in Nature Communications on September 11, 2026.
Industrial plants conventionally treat aromatic pollutants using hydroxyl radicals that non-selectively destroy intrinsic carbon. That breakdown depletes organic material needed for later biological treatment, requiring operators to add costly external carbon while producing substantial carbon dioxide. The newly engineered ozone and percarbonate system produces electrophilic carbonate radicals instead. These radicals target electron-rich conjugated pi-systems in aromatic molecules, fragmenting rings and converting aromatic carbon into biodegradable acetate and formate.
The authors tested the process on pesticide wastewater dominated by xylene with an initial chemical oxygen demand of 11,000 milligrams per liter. The ozone and percarbonate treatment boosted the ratio of five-day biochemical oxygen demand to chemical oxygen demand from 0.01 to 0.45. That result doubled the 0.22 ratio achieved by a hydroxyl-dominated ozone and hydrogen peroxide counterpart.
The generated feedstocks powered self-sufficient downstream anaerobic digestion followed by an anaerobic and aerobic treatment stage. This biological sequence brought chemical oxygen demand below 50 milligrams per liter and lowered total nitrogen below 15 milligrams per liter without supplemental carbon additions.
Scientists at Nanchang Hangkong University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Jiangxi Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences and Planning submitted the research in October 2025 following peer review. Mass spectrometer analysis was conducted with Yue’e Peng’s group at the China University of Geosciences, supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
