BiVO4-assisted photocatalytic ozonation for efficient cyanide degradation in synthetic silver post-leaching effluents

BiVO4-assisted photocatalytic ozonation for efficient cyanide degradation in synthetic silver post-leaching effluents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article BiVO 4 -assisted photocatalytic ozonation for efficient cyanide degradation in synthetic silver post-leaching effluents Johan Andrés Vargas Rueda, Alejandro Rafael Alonso Gómez, Rosa María Luna Sánchez, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7745211/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cyanide is extensively used in hydrometallurgical leaching due to its strong metal-chelating ability, yet its acute toxicity raises major environmental concerns. This study evaluates photoactivated BiVO₄ synthesized by the sol–gel method and combined with ozone for the degradation of metal–cyanide complexes in alkaline matrices (pH 10.5) containing silver, copper, iron, lead, and zinc, representative of effluents from silver leaching in the Mexican mining industry. Synthetic solutions were prepared and characterized to reproduce these conditions. Thermodynamic stability diagrams indicated that free cyanide and complexes such as Ag(CN)₂⁻, Cu(CN)₃²⁻, and Fe(CN)₆⁴⁻ persist at alkaline pH, while lead and zinc showed no tendency to form stable cyanide complexes. Oxidative treatments favored complex dissociation, with cyanate predicted as the main by-product; experimentally, ammonium was identified as the dominant degradation product. The BiVO₄/ozone system under irradiation demonstrated superior performance compared to individual processes, achieving faster cyanide abatement and improved efficiency. Kinetics followed a modified Langmuir–Hinshelwood model that accounted for both surface-mediated photocatalysis and bulk-phase ozone reactions. Complete cyanide removal was achieved in two consecutive cycles, though partial deactivation occurred in the third cycle due to BiVO₄ surface poisoning by adsorbed metals, confirmed by SEM/EDS and atomic absorption. Despite gradual loss of activity, the coupled process consistently removed both free and complexes cyanide while reducing ozone demand compared with conventional ozonation. These findings highlight photocatalytic ozonation with BiVO₄ as a promising and sustainable strategy for the treatment of metallurgical effluents, offering efficient pollutant degradation and lower oxidant consumption in comparison with conventional approaches. BiVO4 Photocatalytic Ozonation Free Cyanide Cyanide Complexes Degradation Full Text Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Environmental Science and Pollution Research → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revision 17 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 23 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 23 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 17 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 13 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7745211","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":534032911,"identity":"5f1c214b-51f0-46e0-a523-423c85457ed8","order_by":0,"name":"Johan Andrés Vargas Rueda","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYog590LZINeFRhBwYHiFXJPCP52ccvNXX5xsePP/zA2GYXzSB2xgC/w2akGc+WOXbYctuZhGQJxrbk3AbptAT8WnoOGDNLsB0wMDuQcIyBsY0ZqCUZvxsZe45/Zpb4V2dg3P+wDailHqglsQG/lvYeY8aPbcwGBhLJbEAth4mwpb2nmJmx77CBxI1nzBIJ547nthHyi2Ez+2bGH9/qDPj70x9++FBWndsvnYM/xAyB7mbmgfFAxrPhVQ8E8iDH/SCkahSMglEwCkY2AAAblENqL/1EAwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Departamento de Materiales, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Azcapotzalco. 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effluents\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"espr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Science and Pollution Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"BiVO4, Photocatalytic Ozonation, Free Cyanide, Cyanide Complexes, Degradation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7745211/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7745211/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCyanide is extensively used in hydrometallurgical leaching due to its strong metal-chelating ability, yet its acute toxicity raises major environmental concerns. This study evaluates photoactivated BiVO₄ synthesized by the sol\u0026ndash;gel method and combined with ozone for the degradation of metal\u0026ndash;cyanide complexes in alkaline matrices (pH 10.5) containing silver, copper, iron, lead, and zinc, representative of effluents from silver leaching in the Mexican mining industry. Synthetic solutions were prepared and characterized to reproduce these conditions. Thermodynamic stability diagrams indicated that free cyanide and complexes such as Ag(CN)₂⁻, Cu(CN)₃\u0026sup2;⁻, and Fe(CN)₆⁴⁻ persist at alkaline pH, while lead and zinc showed no tendency to form stable cyanide complexes. Oxidative treatments favored complex dissociation, with cyanate predicted as the main by-product; experimentally, ammonium was identified as the dominant degradation product.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe BiVO₄/ozone system under irradiation demonstrated superior performance compared to individual processes, achieving faster cyanide abatement and improved efficiency. Kinetics followed a modified Langmuir\u0026ndash;Hinshelwood model that accounted for both surface-mediated photocatalysis and bulk-phase ozone reactions. Complete cyanide removal was achieved in two consecutive cycles, though partial deactivation occurred in the third cycle due to BiVO₄ surface poisoning by adsorbed metals, confirmed by SEM/EDS and atomic absorption. Despite gradual loss of activity, the coupled process consistently removed both free and complexes cyanide while reducing ozone demand compared with conventional ozonation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese findings highlight photocatalytic ozonation with BiVO₄ as a promising and sustainable strategy for the treatment of metallurgical effluents, offering efficient pollutant degradation and lower oxidant consumption in comparison with conventional approaches.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"BiVO4-assisted photocatalytic ozonation for efficient cyanide degradation in synthetic silver post-leaching effluents","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-04 06:28:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7745211/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major Revision","date":"2025-12-18T03:19:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2025-10-24T07:00:22+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-23T14:42:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","date":"2025-10-23T12:35:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-17T04:54:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","date":"2025-10-13T15:18:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"espr","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Science and Pollution Research](https://www.springer.com/journal/11356)","snPcode":"11356","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11356/3","title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1a1cea6d-73d7-435a-8413-29ad74cd691a","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-09T16:04:39+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7745211","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-026-37456-x","journal":{"identity":"environmental-science-and-pollution-research","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Environmental Science and Pollution Research"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-07 15:59:36","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 7th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-04 06:28:51","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s11356-026-37456-x","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-026-37456-x","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7745211","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7745211","identity":"rs-7745211","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}