A Novel Energy-from-Waste Approach for Electrical Energy Production by Galvano–Fenton Process

Abstract

A novel approach allowing the production of electrical energy by an advanced oxidation process is proposed to eliminate organic micropollutants (MPs) in wastewaters. This approach is based on associating the Galvano–Fenton process to the generation of electrical power. In the previous studies describing the Galvano–Fenton (GF) process, iron was directly coupled to a metal of more positive potential to ensure degradation of organic pollutants without any possibility of producing electrical energy. In this new approach, the Galvano–Fenton process is constructed as an electrochemical cell with an external circuit allowing recovering electrons exchanged during the process. In this study, Malachite Green (MG) dye was used as a model of organic pollutant. Simultaneous MG degradation and electrical energy production with the GF method were investigated in batch process. The investigation of various design parameters emphasis that utilization of copper as a low-cost cathode material in the galvanic couple, provides the best treatment and electrical production performances. Moreover, these performances are improved by increasing the surface area of the cathode. The present work reveals that the GF process has a potential to provide an electrical power density of about 200 W m−2. These interesting performances indicate that this novel Energy-from-Waste strategy of the GF process could serve as an ecological solution for wastewater treatment.

Water Remediation from Recalcitrant Pollution Using the Galvano-Fenton Process: A Modeling Approach of the Hydroxyl Radical Generation and the Energy Efficiency

“…At present, we suggest relating the efficiency of the Galvano-Fenton to the energy release (Gasmi et al 2021), compared to the efficiency of the electro-Fenton process to the energy consumption, considering similar conditions of spontaneous and forced electrochemical reactions. The polarization curves of the Fe-Cu galvanic cell within the Galvano-Fenton process with the configuration described earlier showed that the corrosion current is estimated at 298.75 µA for a corrosion potential of 0.277 V, which is equivalent to a maximum power of 82.75 mW.…”

Simultaneous Galvanic Generation of Fe2+ Catalyst and Spontaneous Energy Release in the Galvano-Fenton Technique: A Numerical Investigation of Phenol’s Oxidation and Energy Production and Saving

“…At present, we suggest relating the efficiency of the Galvano-Fenton and Galvano-Fenton process with pre-immersion time to the energy release [31], compared to the efficiency of the electro-Fenton process to the energy consumption, considering similar conditions of spontaneous and forced electrochemical reactions. Figure 9a represents the polarization curves of the Fe-Cu galvanic cell within the Galvano-Fenton process in the presence of hydrogen peroxide at 0.187 mM, as described in the present work.…”

Galvano-Fenton Engineering Solution with Spontaneous Catalyst’s Generation from Waste: Experimental Efficiency, Parametric Analysis and Modeling Interpretation Applied to a Clean Technology for Dyes Degradation in Water

“…Thus, the Galvano-Fenton process does not require any external current and, on the contrary, produces energy along with the oxidation of target pollutants. From a technological point of view, the energetic outcomes of the Galvano-Fenton process have been recently studied as a novel approach for energy from waste [25], and estimations have been made in terms of energy production and saving, using the basic configuration as well as an upgraded one relying on a pre-immersion stage of the electrodes in the electrolyte [24]. Economically speaking, a direct comparison with the classic Fenton process clearly shows that the Galvano-Fenton eliminates the need for ferrous salt addition, which prevents at least an additional operation cost related to the use of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate salt as a catalyst source [26].…”