Significance of Activated Carbon Fiber as Cathode in Electro/Fe3+/Peroxydisulfate Oxidation Process for Removing Carbamazepine in Aqueous Environment

To remove carbamazepine (CBZ) from aqueous environment, the method of using activated carbon fiber as a cathode with enhanced electric/ferric iron/peroxydisulfate (ACF-E/Fe3+/PDS) process was studied. The highest CBZ removal ratio of 97.76% was achieved in 30 min, which was unchanged after 10 cycles of ACF in the ACF-E/Fe3+/PDS process. Meanwhile, the concentration of total iron ions in the effluent decreased as it was deposited on the ACF surface. The results of free radical inhibition experiments revealed that sulfate radical (SO4–•) played the leading role in the removal of CBZ. Compared with the E/Fe3+/PDS process, the electrical energy consumption was significantly reduced by 8 times in the ACF-E/Fe3+/PDS process. In addition, the toxicities of CBZ and its byproducts were reduced in the ACF-E/Fe3+/PDS process by the toxicity test. Therefore, the ACF-E/Fe3+/PDS process can be used as a sustainable, efficient, and low-toxicity method for the treatment of pollutants in water.