Electrocatalysis degradation of coal tar wastewater using a novel hydrophobic benzalacetone modified lead dioxide electrode

Electrocatalysis coupled heterogeneous electro-Fenton like treatment of coal gasification wastewater using tourmaline as catalyst: process parameters and response surface

Coal gasification technology is essential for realizing clean and efficient conversion of coal, as well as for reducing carbon emissions. However, coal gasification technology is accompanied by a large amount of coal gasification wastewater that is biodegradable. In this work, tourmaline was applied as a catalyst in electro-Fenton like process for treating coal gasification wastewater. The optimal applied parameters of coal gasification wastewater were investigated as follows: current density of 90 mA cm-2, tourmaline dosage of 8 g L-1, electrode gap of 1 cm, and temperature at 25 °C; the COD removal ratio reached 91.24% after 240-min treatment. In addition, the current density and tourmaline dosage were further optimized by response surface method. The result was about current density with 82.4 mA cm-2 and catalyst with 7.57 g L-1; the predicted COD removal efficiency was 86.91%. Under the optimal parameters the actual COD removal efficiency was 88.25% a little high than the predicted value. To explore the reusability of tourmaline as Fenton reaction catalyst, five cycles of experiments were carried out. The result demonstrated that tourmaline could be used as catalyst for treating coal gasification wastewater by electro-Fenton like process.

Scientometric analysis of electrocatalysis in wastewater treatment: today and tomorrow

Electrocatalytic methods are valuable tools for addressing water pollution and scarcity, offering effective pollutant removal and resource recovery. To investigate the current status and future trends of electrocatalysis in wastewater treatment, a detailed analysis of 9417 papers and 4061 patents was conducted using scientometric methods. China emerged as the leading contributor to publications, and collaborations between China and the USA have emerged as the most frequent partnerships. Primary article co-citation clusters focused on oxygen evolution reaction and electrochemical oxidation, transitioning towards advanced oxidation processes ("persulfate activation"), and electrocatalytic reduction processes ("nitrate reduction"). Bifunctional catalysts, theoretical calculations, electrocatalytic combination technologies, and emerging contaminants were identified as current research hotspots. Patent analysis revealed seven types of electrochemical technologies, which were compared using SWOT analysis, highlighting electrochemical oxidation as prominent. The technological evolution presented the pathway of electro-Fenton to combined electrocatalytic technologies with biochemical processes, and finally to coupling with electrocoagulation. Standardized evaluation systems, waste resource utilization, and energy conservation were important directions of innovation in electrocatalytic technologies. Overall, this study provided a reference for researchers to understand the framework of electrocatalysis in wastewater treatment and also shed light on potential avenues for further innovation in the field.

Sustainable application of electrocatalytic and photo-electrocatalytic oxidation systems for water and wastewater treatment: a review

Wastewater treatment and reuse have risen as a solution to the water crisis plaguing the world. Global warming-induced climate change, population explosion and fast depletion of groundwater resources are going to exacerbate the present global water problems for the forthcoming future. In this scenario, advanced electrochemical oxidation process (EAOP) utilising electrocatalytic (EC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) technologies have caught hold of the interest of the scientific community. The interest stems from the global water management plans to scale down centralised water and wastewater treatment systems to decentralised and semicentralised treatment systems for better usage efficiency and less resource wastage. In an age of rising water pollution caused by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), EC and PEC systems were found to be capable of optimal mineralisation of these pollutants rendering them environmentally benign. The present review treads into the conventional electrochemical treatment systems to identify their drawbacks and analyses the scope of the EC and PEC to mitigate them. Probable electrode materials, potential catalysts and optimal operational conditions for such applications were also examined. The review also discusses the possible retrospective application of EC and PEC as point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment systems during the transition from conventional centralised systems to decentralised and semi-centralised water and wastewater treatment systems.

Electrocatalytic degradation of methyl orange and 4-nitrophenol on a Ti/TiO2-NTA/La-PbO2 electrode: electrode characterization and operating parameters

The anode material plays a crucial role in the process of electrochemical oxidation. Herein, a TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TiO₂-NTA) intermediate layer and La-PbO₂ catalytic layer were synthesized on a Ti surface by the electrochemical anodic oxidation and electrochemical deposition technology, respectively. The prepared Ti/TiO₂-NTA/La-PbO₂ electrode was used as an electrocatalytic oxidation anode for pollutant degradation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the TiO₂-NTA layer possessed a highly ordered and well-aligned nanotube array morphology, and the La-PbO₂ layer with angular cone cluster was uniform and tightly bonded. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the intermediate layer primarily consisted of the anatase crystal structure of TiO₂ and the catalyst layer was made of La-PbO₂. Electrochemical analysis revealed that Ti/TiO₂-NTA/La-PbO₂ electrode exhibited higher oxidation peak current, electrochemical active surface area, and oxygen evolution potential (OEP, 1.64 V). Using methyl orange and 4-nitrophenol as model pollutants, electrocatalytic properties of the prepared Ti/TiO₂-NTA/La-PbO₂ electrode were systematically investigated under different conditions, and the electrochemical degradation fitted well with the pseudo-first-order kinetics model. Efficient anodic oxidation of model pollutants was mainly attributed to the indirect oxidation mediated by hydroxyl radicals (•OH). The total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency of methyl orange and 4-nitrophenol was 70.2 and 72.8%, and low energy consumption (2.50 and 1.89 kWh g^-1) was achieved after 240 min of electrolysis under the conditions of initial concentration of model pollutant, electrode spacing, and electrolyte concentration were 50 mg L^-1, 2 cm, and 0.1 mol L^-1, respectively. This work provided a new strategy to develop the high-efficiency electrode for refractory pollutants degradation.

Elaboration of Highly Modified Stainless Steel/Lead Dioxide Anodes for Enhanced Electrochemical Degradation of Ampicillin in Water

Lead dioxide-based electrodes have shown a great performance in the electrochemical treatment of organic wastewater. In the present study, modified PbO2 anodes supported on stainless steel (SS) with a titanium oxide interlayer such as SS/TiO2/PbO2 and SS/TiO2/PbO2-10% Boron (B) were prepared by the sol–gel spin-coating technique. The morphological and structural properties of the prepared electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the SS/TiO2/PbO2-10% B anode led to a rougher active surface, larger specific surface area, and therefore stronger ability to generate powerful oxidizing agents. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements showed that the modified PbO2 anodes displayed a lower charge transfer resistance Rct. The influence of the introduction of a TiO2 intermediate layer and the boron doping of a PbO2 active surface layer on the electrochemical degradation of ampicillin (AMP) antibiotic have been investigated by chemical oxygen demand measurements and HPLC analysis. Although HPLC analysis showed that the degradation process of AMP with SS/PbO2 was slightly faster than the modified PbO2 anodes, the results revealed that SS/TiO2/PbO2-10%B was the most efficient and economical anode toward the pollutant degradation due to its physico-chemical properties. At the end of the electrolysis, the chemical oxygen demand (COD), the average current efficiency (ACE) and the energy consumption (EC) reached, respectively, 69.23%, 60.30% and 0.056 kWh (g COD)−1, making SS/TiO2/PbO2-10%B a promising anode for the degradation of ampicillin antibiotic in aqueous solutions.