Preparation and application of high-performance and acid-tolerant TiO2/carbon electrocatalytic membrane for organic wastewater treatment

Acidic organic wastewater with toxic and carcinogenic properties has long been a tough problem for industrial treatment. To break down the barrier of poor acidic stability as well as the high cost of materials and reactors, a novel strategy of utilizing a high-performance and acid-tolerant TiO 2 /carbon electrocatalytic membrane (TiO 2 /CEM) for acidic organic wastewater treatment was proposed. Study results showed that high concentrations of organic pollutants were separated and degraded by the synergistic effects of membrane separation and electrocatalytic oxidation simultaneously on the TiO 2 /CEM. The great treatment performance with membrane removal efficiency of >97.4% was obtained by treating acidic rhodamine B (RhB) dye wastewater under optimized applied voltage. Treatment experiments under various pH and electrochemical tests demonstrated the outstanding acid-tolerant property and long service life of TiO 2 /CEM. Furthermore, the feasibility of TiO 2 /CEM for industrial application and various acidic organic wastewater treatment was proved by treating typical organic pollutants (phenol, tetracycline and oil) under high acidic circumstances.