Application of Electrochemical Oxidation for Water and Wastewater Treatment: An Overview

Abstract

In recent years, the discharge of various emerging pollutants, chemicals, and dyes in water and wastewater has represented one of the prominent human problems. Since water pollution is directly related to human health, highly resistant and emerging compounds in aquatic environments will pose many potential risks to the health of all living beings. Therefore, water pollution is a very acute problem that has constantly increased in recent years with the expansion of various industries. Consequently, choosing efficient and innovative wastewater treatment methods to remove contaminants is crucial. Among advanced oxidation processes, electrochemical oxidation (EO) is the most common and effective method for removing persistent pollutants from municipal and industrial wastewater. However, despite the great progress in using EO to treat real wastewater, there are still many gaps. This is due to the lack of comprehensive information on the operating parameters which affect the process and its operating costs. In this paper, among various scientific articles, the impact of operational parameters on the EO performances, a comparison between different electrochemical reactor configurations, and a report on general mechanisms of electrochemical oxidation of organic pollutants have been reported. Moreover, an evaluation of cost analysis and energy consumption requirements have also been discussed. Finally, the combination process between EO and photocatalysis (PC), called photoelectrocatalysis (PEC), has been discussed and reviewed briefly. This article shows that there is a direct relationship between important operating parameters with the amount of costs and the final removal efficiency of emerging pollutants. Optimal operating conditions can be achieved by paying special attention to reactor design, which can lead to higher efficiency and more efficient treatment. The rapid development of EO for removing emerging pollutants from impacted water and its combination with other green methods can result in more efficient approaches to face the pressing water pollution challenge. PEC proved to be a promising pollutants degradation technology, in which renewable energy sources can be adopted as a primer to perform an environmentally friendly water treatment.

Integrated Electrochemical Oxidation and Biodegradation for Remediation of a Neonicotinoid Insecticide Pollutant

“…The phylogenetic relationship of this bacterial strain SA2 is illustrated in Figure . Earlier reports have stated that P. oleovorans is widely distributed and efficiently degrades environmental pollutants in soil environments . SA2 is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, monoflagellated bacterium.…”

“…Earlier reports have stated that P. oleovorans is widely distributed and efficiently degrades environmental pollutants in soil environments. 47 SA2 is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, monoflagellated bacterium. The isolated bacterial strains demonstrated high sustainability in pesticide-contaminated soil environments.…”

Chitosan Supports Boosting NiCo2O4 for Catalyzed Urea Electrochemical Removal Application

“…Although the electrochemical treatment process is currently in its early stages of development, its exceptional characteristics present encouraging prospects for advancement in energy, environment, and healthcare [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Thus, the electrochemical oxidation of urea can be employed for both urea removal application (wastewater treatment) [ 13 ], and fuel cell (energy conversion application) [ 14 ].…”

Electrochemical Degradation of Diuron by Anodic Oxidation on a Commercial Ru0.3Ti0.7O2 Anode in a Sulfate Medium

“…Classical wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are based on physical and biochemical processes, which cannot remove persistent pollutants [1]. In this sense, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) emerge as a suitable alternative based on the generation of the powerful oxidant hydroxyl radical (OH•) [2,3]. Among the different AOP, electro-oxidation presents some advantages, such as adding few or no chemicals to the medium, versatility, easy automation, high energy efficiency, and the capacity to mineralize the pollutants completely [4].…”