Degradation of 4-Chlorophenol in a Batch Electrochemical Reactor Using BDD Electrodes

• Published in: International journal of electrochemical science 2018-05, Vol.13 (5), p.4625-4639
• Main Authors: Peralta, Ever, Ruíz, Martín, Martínez, Gerardo, Mentado-Morales, Juan, Zárate, Luis G., Cordero, Mario E., Garcia-Morales, Marco A., Natividad, Reyna, Regalado-Méndez, Alejandro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 4-Chlorophenol; Boron-doped diamond electrode; Electrochemical cell; Electrochemical degradation
• ISSN: 1452-3981; 1452-3981
• DOI: 10.20964/2018.05.21

The influence of current density (j) (0.25, 0.30, 0.25 and 0.40 A/cm2), initial pH (2.6, 6.5 and 12), stirring speed (As) (400, 500 and 600 rpm), and initial concentration of 4-chlorophenol ([4-CP]0) (300, 500 and 700 mg/L) on degradation of persistent pollutant in a batch electrochemical cell without divisions is presented in this paper. The electrochemical cell was composed of two boron-doped diamond electrodes (BDD). The results of the study showed that best conditions for total degradation of 4-CP were: j of 0.40 A/cm2, initial pH of 6.5, As of 500 rpm, and [4-CP]0 of 500 mg/L, after 150 min of reaction time. Removal of total organic carbon (TOC) was 83% at these conditions. The by-products were identified by UHPLC. This allowed for the proposal of a degradation pathway of 4-CP at the best conditions. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that the electrochemical method employed in this study allows high percentages (96%) of degradation of 4-CP and that the process is applicable to wastewater treatment.