Simultaneous Oxidation of Emerging Pollutants in Real Wastewater by the Advanced Fenton Oxidation Process

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article catalysts-2283812 presented results on the Fenton-based oxidation of emerging pollutants in conventionally treated wastewater. This is an interesting work, as it evaluated the polishing of wastewater that is already treated and allowed it to meet the disposal standards of Mexican legislation. However, as Catalysts is a Catalysis journal, this aspect needs to be highlighted in the article.

Other necessary corrections:

Abstract: Authors must include here the % removal of emerging pollutants;

Lines 72-75: It is necessary to rewrite the purpose of the work highlighting what is its novelty;

Line 77: Delete this sentence;

Lines 96-120: This topic is inappropriate in experimental section. Such information must be inserted in introduction or results and discussion section;

Lines 166-176: The molar ratio between Fe:H2O2 ranges from 1:10 to 1:20 according to several works published in the literature. Do the authors consider this?

 It is not necessary to repeat Equation 1 in the Experimental section;

Line 185: change “M” to “mol.L-1”;

Lines 217-220: This sentence needs to be rewritten. This could only be confirmed if the authors had performed a pH=3 control without adding Fenton reagents;

Title, lines 252, 267: Advanced Fenton Oxidation Process or Fenton Advanced Oxidation Process? It is necessary to standardize;

Conclusions: ok

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

In this manuscript, Bracamontes-Ruelas et al. investigated the simultaneous oxidation of a range of emerging pollutants in real wastewater using the advanced Fenton oxidation process. The results suggested that the AOP-Fenton process could provide an effluent with enough quality to be discharged into receiving water bodies. Overall, this work reports interesting results on advanced oxidation processes that can appeal to the readership of Catalysts. However, the current manuscript would require revision to meet the publication standards. Please address the below specific comments.

1. The resolution of Figure 1 needs to be enhanced.

2. Fig. 2, what is the dot near the DEET data?

3. Line 256, check the grammar for this sentence.

4. Please double check the number “2.8 ± 0.00” for total nitrogen (mg/L) in Table 3.

5. To appeal to a broader readership, recent works about advanced oxidation processes (e.g., ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2022, 10, 1899-1909) are suggested to be referenced in the Introduction section.

6. Why would the total phosphate concentration and total nitrogen concentration slightly increased after the AOP-Fenton?

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

This manuscript is too primary to be published. The data and experiment are not sufficient enough to support the conclusions. I have to recommend a rejection herein.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The article catalysts-2283812 was improvised by the authors in this second version and it is suitable for publication in this prestigious journal.