H 2 O 2 production at gas-diffusion cathodes made from agarose-derived carbons with different textural properties for acebutolol degradation in chloride media

The excessive cost, unsustainability or complex production of new highly selective electrocatalysts for H O production, especially noble-metal-based ones, is prohibitive in the water treatment sector. To solve this conundrum, biomass-derived carbons with adequate textural properties were synthesized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hazardous materials 2022-02, Vol.423 (Pt A), p.127005
Main Authors: Zhang, Yanyu, Daniel, Giorgia, Lanzalaco, Sonia, Isse, Abdirisak Ahmed, Facchin, Alessandro, Wang, Aimin, Brillas, Enric, Durante, Christian, Sirés, Ignasi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acebutolol
Chlorides
Electrodes
Hydrogen Peroxide
Iron
Oxidation-Reduction
Sepharose
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:The excessive cost, unsustainability or complex production of new highly selective electrocatalysts for H O production, especially noble-metal-based ones, is prohibitive in the water treatment sector. To solve this conundrum, biomass-derived carbons with adequate textural properties were synthesized via agarose double-step pyrolysis followed by steam activation. A longer steam treatment enhanced the graphitization and porosity, even surpassing commercial carbon black. Steam treatment for 20 min yielded the greatest surface area (1248 m g ), enhanced the mesopore/micropore volume distribution and increased the activity (E = 0.609 V) and yield of H O (40%) as determined by RRDE. The upgraded textural properties had very positive impact on the ability of the corresponding gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) to accumulate H O , reaching Faradaic current efficiencies of ~95% at 30 min. Acidic solutions of β-blocker acebutolol were treated by photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) process in synthetic media with and without chloride. In urban wastewater, total drug disappearance was reached at 60 min with almost 50% mineralization after 360 min at only 10 mA cm . Up to 14 degradation products were identified in the Cl -containing medium.
ISSN:1873-3336