The Treatment of Actual Industrial Wastewaters Using Electrochemical Techniques

Application of lead oxide electrodes in wastewater treatment: A review

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) based on hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generated on lead dioxide has become a typical advanced oxidation process (AOP). Titanium-based lead dioxide electrodes (PbO₂/Ti) play an increasingly important role in EO. To further improve the efficiency, the structure and properties of the lead dioxide active surface layer can be modified by doping transition metals, rare earth metals, nonmetals, etc. Here, we compare the common preparation methods of lead dioxide. The EO performance of lead dioxide in wastewater containing dyes, pesticides, drugs, landfill leachate, coal, petrochemicals, etc., is discussed along with their suitable operating conditions. Finally, the factors influencing the contaminant removal kinetics on lead dioxide are systematically analysed.

Enhancement of UV disinfection of urine matrixes by electrochemical oxidation

This work focuses on the removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) contained in hospital urines by UV disinfection enhanced by electrochemical oxidation to overcome the limitations of both single processes in the disinfection of this type of effluents. UV disinfection, electrolysis, and photoelectrolysis of synthetic hospital urine intensified with K. pneumoniae were studied. The influence of the current density and the anode material was assessed on the disinfection performance of combined processes and the resulting synergies and/or antagonisms of coupling both technologies were also evaluated. Results show that the population of bacteria contained in hospital urine is only reduced by 3 orders of magnitude during UV disinfection. Electrolysis leads to complete disinfection of hospital urine when working at 50 A m^-2 using Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) and Mixed Metal Oxides (MMO) as anodes. The coupling of electrolysis to the UV disinfection process leads to the highest disinfection rates, attaining a complete removal of ARB for all the current densities and anode materials tested. The use of MMO anodes leads to higher synergies than BDD electrodes. Results confirm that UV disinfection can be enhanced by electrolysis for the removal of ARB in urine, considering both technical and economic aspects.

Boron-doped diamond (BDD) electro-oxidation coupled with nanofiltration for secondary wastewater treatment: Antibiotics degradation and biofouling

In this study, a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electro-oxidation technology coupled with nanofiltration membrane (EO-NF) technology was investigated for its effectiveness in removing antibiotics (i.e., sulfamethazine:SMZ) and mitigating biofouling during secondary wastewater treatment. The result showed that EO obtained an effective SMZ removal, owing to the ·OH generation observed by Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis; complete elimination of SMZ was found under the high current density (30 mA/cm²) and long Electrolysis Time (ET = 60 min). Meanwhile, EO-NF process enabled to reduce COD content from 60 mg/L to nearly 5 mg/L. Furthermore, regardless of the effect of EO process, NF could retain most NH₃-N because of the excellent performance of NF for ions rejection, and its permeate concentration was below 0.5 mg/L. EO was able to reduce membrane fouling notably, increasing the final flux (15 L/(m²·h)) of NF by 25.1% during long-term operation (240 h). Scanning electron microscopy-Energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) showed that a porous layer formed on the vicinity of NF membrane in the case of filtrating EO effluent, in contrast to a uniform and dense biofouling layer generated during the direct NF. Besides, the content of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the number of bacterial colonies in the retentate of the EO-NF process were greater than those of the direct NF process. This resulted in a smaller amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) attaching to the membrane surface, decreasing the tightness and hardness of the fouling layer in the case of EO, as indicated by CLSM analysis. Overall, considering its ability to effectively eliminate persistent contaminants and reduce membrane fouling, BDD-based EO is considered a promising pre-treatment option for future NF applications.

Degradation of antibiotic ciprofloxacin by different AOP systems using electrochemically generated hydrogen peroxide

The present work reports the degradation of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) by different advanced oxidative process systems (UV; Anodic Oxidation; H₂O₂; H₂O₂/UV; H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ and H₂O₂/UV/Fe²⁺) in an electrochemical cell using gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide. CIP degradation and mineralization were evaluated by high efficiency liquid chromatography (HPLC) and total organic carbon (TOC) techniques. Of all the systems investigated, the photoelectro-Fenton system presented the best degradation efficiency; this system promoted highly significant mineralization percentages of 54.8% and 84.6% in 90 and 360 min, and relatively lower energy consumption rates of 4110.0 and 9808.2 kWh kg^-1 TOC, respectively. In 6 h period of experiment, the main degradation products of ciprofloxacin were identified, and the aliphatic acids obtained helped confirm the rupture of the aromatic ring. The application of the photoelectro-Fenton process with in situ eletroctrogeneration of H₂O₂ using GDE has proved to be suitably promising for the treatment of organic pollutants.

An optimization model for the treatment of perfluorocarboxylic acids considering membrane preconcentration and BDD electrooxidation

Treatment of persistent perfluorocarboxylic acids in water matrixes requires of strong oxidation conditions, as those achieved by boron doped diamond (BDD) electrooxidation (ELOX). However, large scale implementation of ELOX is still hindered by its high energy consumption and economical investment. In this work, we used process systems engineering tools to define the optimal integration of a membrane pre-concentration stage followed by the BDD electrolysis of the concentrate, to drastically reduce the costs of treatment of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 100 mg L^-1) in industrial waste streams. A multistage membrane cascade system using nanofiltration (NF90 and NF270 membranes) was considered to achieve more sophisticated PFHxA separations. The aim was to minimize the total costs by determining the optimal sizing of the two integrated processes (membrane area per stage and anode area) and the optimal process variables (pre-concentration operating time, electrolysis time, input and output concentrations). The non-linear programming model (NLP) was implemented in the General Algebraic Modelling System (GAMS). The results showed that for a 2-log PFHxA abatement (99% removal), the optimal two membrane stages using the NF90 membrane obtains a 75.8% (6.4 $ m^-3) reduction of the total costs, compared to the ELOX alone scenario (26.5 $ m^-3). The optimized anode area and the energy savings, that were 85.3% and 88.2% lower than in ELOX alone, were the major contributions to the costs reduction. Similar results were achieved for a 3-log and 4-log PFHxA abatement, pointing out the promising benefits of integrating electrochemical oxidation with membrane pre-concentration through proper optimization for its large-scale application to waters impacted by perfluorocarboxylic acids.

Tertiary treatment of landfill leachate by an integrated Electro-Oxidation/Electro-Coagulation/Electro-Reduction process: Performance and mechanism

This study presents an integrated Electro-Oxidation/Electro-Coagulation/Electro-Reduction (EO/EC/ER) process for tertiary landfill leachate treatment. The influence of variables including leachate characteristics and operation conditions on the performance of EO/EC/ER process was evaluated. The removal mechanisms were explored by comparing results of anode, cathode, and bipolar electrode substitution experiments. The performance of the process in a scaled-up reactor was investigated to assure the feasibility of the process. Results showed that simultaneous removal of carbonaceous and nitrogenous pollutants was achieved under optimal conditions. Ammonia removal was due to the free chlorine generation of EO while organic matter degradation was achieved by both EO and EC processes. Nitrate removal was attributed to both ER and EC processes, with the higher removal achieved by ER process. In a scaled-up reactor, the EO/EC/ER process was able to remove 50-60% organic matter and 100% ammonia at charge of 1.5 Ah/L with energy consumption of 15 kW h/m³. Considering energy cost, the process is more efficient to meet the requirement of organic removal efficiency less than 70%. These results show the feasibility and potential of the EO/EC/ER process as an alternative tertiary treatment to achieve the simultaneous removal of organic matter, ammonia, nitrate, and color of leachate.

Ferrous ion-activated persulphate process for landfill leachate treatment: removal of organic load, phenolic micropollutants and nitrogen

The innovative [Formula: see text] treatment technology based on sulphate radicals induced oxidation was applied for the treatment of landfill leachate. The performance of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal in the Fe²⁺-activated persulphate system was moderate; however, the results of dissolved nitrogen (DN) and total phenols removal showed significant efficacy (≤39% and ≥87%, respectively). [Formula: see text] addition to the [Formula: see text] system enhanced the treatment efficacy and resulted in supplementary 15% of COD and 5% of DN removal. Hydroxyl radical-based H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ treatment of the landfill leachate was performed as well; the results indicated higher removal efficacy of COD and DOC compared to the [Formula: see text] system. However, practical application of the H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ system is considerably influenced by temperature rise and excessive foam formation. Generally, the ferrous ion-activated persulphate treatment could be a promising technology for ex situ as well as in situ landfill leachate treatment applications.

Oxidative degradation study on antimicrobial agent ciprofloxacin by electro-Fenton process: kinetics and oxidation products

Oxidative degradation of the antimicrobial agent ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIP) has been investigated using electro-Fenton (EF) treatment with a constant current in the range 60-500 mA. The process generates highly oxidant species OH in situ via electrochemically monitored Fenton reaction. The EF experiments were performed using cells with a carbon felt cathode and Pt anode. Effect of applied current and catalyst concentration on the kinetics of oxidative degradation and mineralization efficiency have been investigated. Degradation of CIP followed pseudo-first order reaction kinetics. The rate constant of the oxidation of CIP by OH has been determined to be (1.01 ± 0.14) × 10(10) M(-1) s(-1) by using competitive kinetics method. An optimum current of 400 mA and a catalyst concentration of Fe(2+) at 0.1mM are found to be optimal for an effective degradation of CIP under our operating conditions. A remarkably high degree of mineralization (>94%) was obtained at 6h of treatment under these conditions. A number of stable intermediate products have been identified using HPLC and LC-MS/MS analyses. Based on the identified reaction intermediates, a plausible reaction pathway was proposed for the mineralization process. The high degree of mineralization obtained in this work highlights the potential application of EF process in the efficient removal of fluoroquinolone based drugs in aqueous medium.