Honestly, while the study does show some interesting results with the Fe-Zn 3A zeolite catalyst in catalytic ozonation, there are quite a few serious concerns that make it hard to fully trust the conclusions. First off, the authors spiked the wastewater with 100 mg/L of enrofloxacin, which seems quite high and not really based on actual concentrations found in real pharmaceutical wastewater. That alone makes the results feel a bit disconnected from real-world applications. Another thing that stands out is their claim that surface area increased after metal loading, from 9.2 to 37.5 m²/g, which feels odd because typically, adding metals clogs up pores, not increases them. They also never measured if Fe or Zn leached into the solution, so how do we know this isn’t just homogeneous catalysis? It could just be the dissolved metals doing the job, not the solid catalyst itself. Their explanation about molecular ozone being the main removal mechanism also doesn’t completely line up, if TBA scavenges hydroxyl radicals and has such little effect, why does COD removal still drop significantly? It kind of suggests there’s a mix of mechanisms happening, not just one dominant pathway. And they didn’t check what byproducts formed during enrofloxacin degradation. For all we know, it could break down into something even more toxic. Lastly, there’s nothing on catalyst reuse or long-term performance. It’s just one-shot tests, which is not enough to say this is practical or scalable. So yeah, while the study adds to the field, it definitely needs more validation and critical data before anyone takes this as a reliable treatment strategy.
