Electrochemical oxidation for the treatment of industrial wastewaters

[Electrochemical Oxidation]

[Metal/Carbon based Electrode Synthesis]

[Performance Test]

Our group is focusing on anodic processes for the treatment of industrial wastewaters with high carbon and nitrogen contents. We proposed the sequential combination of electro-Fenton oxidation followed by electrochemical chlorination as the technical option to treat high-COD and ammonia-nitrogen wastewaters having strong ionic strength (e.g., anaerobically digested food wastewater). Resistive heating and carbocatalysis at the cathode have been explored to utilize oxyanions resulting from anodic electrolyte oxidation that inevitably occurs, improving the overall electrochemical treatment efficiency. In an effort to seek high-performance, chemically/mechanically robust, and cost-effective anodes (proxies for boron-doped diamond and ruthenium- or iridium-based dimensionally stable anodes), we have fabricated metal suboxides with oxygen non-stoichiometry and tuned their electrochemical properties via heteroatom doping.