Dual-cell reduction and group effect in an internal microelectrolysis reactor

Internal Micro-electrolysis Using Fe/C Material for Pre-Treatment of Concentrated Coking Wastewater

Untreated coking effluent presents a great challenge for sustainable development of the steel industry and environment preservation. In this study, an internal micro-electrolysis method using Fe/C materials was employed for pretreatment of real coking wastewater with high mass concentration. The Fe/C materials were prepared by Fe powder and graphite powder; and the characteristics of surface morphology, structure, composition of the synthesized materials were examined by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The effects of factors namely dosage of Fe/C material, treatment time, initial pH and temperature were investigated via chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phenol removal efficiencies. Optimal treatment efficiency was attained at pH of 4, Fe/C dosage of 40 g/L, treatment time of 360 minutes and temperature of 25°C. After the internal electrolysis process, the values of COD, BOD5, and phenol of the wastewater were 6500, 4850 and 0.1 mg/L, respectively.

Fabrication, characterizations and performance of a high-efficiency micro-electrolysis filler for isobutyl xanthate (IBX) degradation

Micro-electrolysis is a cost-effective method widely applied in wastewater treatment. In this paper, a high-efficiency micro-electrolysis filler was prepared by a facile calcination method for the degradation of isobutyl xanthate (IBX). The optimization of filler fabrication process was investigated from aspects of compressive strength, abrasion loss and degradation rate. Combined with multi-characterization techniques, it can be found that the zero-valent iron (ZVI) was partially changed to Fe(2+) in the phase of fayalite (Fe₂SiO₄) during the treatment. The influence of operation parameters of filler dosage, initial pH and initial concentration were thoroughly studied. The result shows that the IBX degradation rate by optimized filler can reach 93.30%, superior to that of Fe/C filler (the element Fe kept at ZVI during heat treatment) with 61.8% removal. The degradation pathway of IBX was studied by GC-MS in details and the bis(2-methylpropyl)carbonate was postulated as the main by-product. The stability of filler was evaluated by batch cycle tests and column tests. This work provides a novel perspective about micro-electrolysis filler preparation. The extraordinary performance brings it potential for industrial application.

The mechanism of synergistic effect between iron-carbon microelectrolysis and biodegradation for strengthening phenols removal in coal gasification wastewater treatment

A novel iron-carbon microelectrolysis (ICME) inoculated with activated sludge (AS) process was specifically designed to look into the roles of microelectrolysis and biodegradation as well as their synergistic effect on phenols removal in coal gasification wastewater (CGW) treatment. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of COD, phenols and TOC in integrated ICME-AS process reached 87.36 ± 2.98%, 92.62 ± 0.76% and 84.45 ± 0.65%, respectively. Moreover, phenols-degrading bacteria and electrochemical-active bacteria presented better adaptability to phenolic impact. Meanwhile their syntrophic interaction was driven under the simulation of microelectrolysis. Furthermore, electrochemical redox efficiency was significantly improved, and the corresponding maximum power output reached 0.043 ± 0.01 mW/cm². Apparently, the synergistic effect between microelectrolysis and biological action effectively strengthened phenols degradation and electricity generation. The results proved that the integrated ICME-AS process was a promising technology applied for CGW and other refractory industrial wastewater treatments.

Process design of high-concentration benzimidazole wastewater treatment based on the molecular structure of contaminants

Benzimidazole is an important intermediate in industry and it is usually difficult to be degraded by many treatment technologies. Looking for a highly effective, environment-friendly degradation process for benzimidazole wastewater is of great significance to reduce pollution. Based on the structure of contaminants, the micro-electrolysis (ME) coupled with the Fenton technique was chosen to degrade the industrial benzimidazole wastewater. Special feeding was applied to maintain the suitable hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration to produce the hydroxyl radicals (•OH) as much as possible and protect •OH from being quenched by excess H₂O₂ according to the reaction mechanism. The results showed that this combined technique was highly efficient to decompose benzimidazole compounds. More chemical oxygen demand (COD) could be reduced when flow control was used, compared to the flow not being controlled. The COD removal rate could reach 85.2% at optimal parameters. Then the effluent of this process was combined with the existing biochemical system for further degradation. The studies of Ultraviolet Spectrophotometry, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry showed that both 2-(a-Hydroxyethyl) benzimidazole and 2-Acetylbenzimidazole were decomposed to the isopropanolamine and aniline after the ME treatment; then the intermediates were oxidized into oxalic acid after the Fenton reaction.