Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate Plasticizer in Water by High-Performance Iro2-Ta2O5/Ti Electrocatalytic Electrode

Abstract

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in the presence of a wastewater system is harmful to the environment and interferes with the human’s endocrine system. For wastewater treatment, DBP is very difficult to be decomposed by biotechniques and many catalytic processes have been developed. Among them, the electrocatalytic oxidation (EO) technique has been proven to possess high degradation efficiency of various organic compounds in wastewater. In this study, an electrocatalytic electrode of iridium-tantalum/titanium (IrO2-Ta2O5/Ti) was employed as the anode and graphite as the cathode to decompose DBP substances in the water. According to experimental results, the high removal efficiency of DBP and total organic carbon (TOC) of 90% and 56%, respectively, could be obtained under a voltage gradient of 10 V/cm for 60 min. Compared with other photocatalysis degradation, the IrO2-Ta2O5/Ti electrode could shorten about half the treatment time and electric power based on the same removal efficiency of DBP (i.e., photocatalysis requires 0.225~0.99 KWh). Results also indicated that the production of hydroxyl radical (•OH) in the electrocatalytic electrode played a key role for decomposing the DBP. Moreover, the pH and conductivity of water containing DBP were slightly changed and eventually remained in a stable state during the EO treatment. In addition, the removal efficiency of DBP could still remain about 90% after using the IrO2-Ta2O5/Ti electrode three times and the surface structure of the IrO2-Ta2O5/Ti electrode was stable.

Review on Structural Adjustment Strategies of Titanium‐Based Metal Oxide Dimensionally Stable Anodes in Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Technology

“…The Ti/Ta 2 O 5 -IrO 2 electrode is selected as the working electrode, and under the optimal electrolytic conditions (the current intensity is 0.8 A, the electrode spacing was 3 cm, and the electrolyte pH value was 3), the maximum removal rate of sulfonylurea herbicide nicosulfuron was 86.6% for 7 h. Typical doping of Ti/IrO 2 anodes is as follows: 1) Ta 2 O 5 . The IrO 2 -Ta 2 O 5 binary oxide-coated electrodes have both high oxygen evolution electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability, high electrode efficiency, and stable surface structure of the electrode, [92][93][94] which are widely studied. By combining with carbon materials, graphene-modified IrO 2 -Ta 2 O 5 -coated titanium anode (Ti/IrO 2 -Ta 2 O 5 -G) [95] and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-loaded IrO 2 -Ta 2 O 5 -rGO coating [96] can be produced.…”

“…Typical doping of Ti/IrO 2 anodes is as follows: 1) Ta 2 O 5 . The IrO 2 –Ta 2 O 5 binary oxide‐coated electrodes have both high oxygen evolution electrocatalytic activity and electrochemical stability, high electrode efficiency, and stable surface structure of the electrode, [ 92–94 ] which are widely studied. By combining with carbon materials, graphene‐modified IrO 2 –Ta 2 O 5 ‐coated titanium anode (Ti/IrO 2 –Ta 2 O 5 ‐G) [ 95 ] and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)‐loaded IrO 2 –Ta 2 O 5 –rGO coating [ 96 ] can be produced.…”