A highly energy-efficient flow-through electro-Fenton process for organic pollutants degradation

A highly energy-efficient flow-through Electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) reactor for oxidation of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution was designed using a perforated DSA as anode and the graphite felt modified by carbon black and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as cathode for the in situ generation of H 2 O 2 . The modified cathode had a high H 2 O 2 production with low energy consumption, which was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption study and contact angle. The flow-through E-Fenton system was compared to the flow-by and regular one, and confirmed to be best on MB removal and TOC degradation. The operational parameters such as current density, pH, Fe 2+ concentration and flow rate were optimized. The MB and TOC removal efficiency of the effluents could keep above 90% and 50%, respectively, and the energy consumption was 23.0   kWh/kgTOC at the current density of 50   mA, pH 3, 0.3   mM Fe 2+ , and the flow rate of 7   mL/min. OH was proved to be the main oxidizing species in this system. After 5 times operation, the system, especially cathode, still showed good stability. Five more organic pollutants including orange II (OG), tartrazine, acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), tetracycline (TC) and 2,4-dichlorophen (2,4-DCP) were investigated and the electric energy consumption (EEC) was compared with literatures. All results demonstrated that this flow-through E-Fenton system was energy-efficient and potential for degradation of organic pollutants.