Electrocoagulation: Simply a Phase Separation Technology? The Case of Bronopol Compared to Its Treatment by EAOPs.
Electrocoagulation (EC) has long been considered a phase separation process, well suited for industrial wastewater treatment since it causes a quick, drastic decay of organic matter content. This research demonstrates that EC also behaves, at least for some molecules like the industrial preservative bronopol, as an effective transformation technology able to yield several breakdown products. This finding has relevant environmental implications, pointing to EC as a greener process than described in literature. A thorough optimization of EC was performed with solutions of bronopol in a simulated water matrix, yielding the complete disappearance of the parent molecule within 20 min at 200 mA (∼20 mA/cm(2)), using Fe as the anode and cathode. A 25% of total organic carbon (TOC) abatement was attained as maximum, with bronopol being converted into bromonitromethane, bromochloromethane, formaldehyde and formic acid. N atoms were accumulated as NO3(-), whereas Br(-) was stable once released. This suggests that mediated oxidation by active chlorine, as well as by hydroxyl radicals resulting from its reaction with iron ions, is the main transformation mechanism. Aiming to enhance the mineralization, a sequential combination of EC with electro-Fenton (EF) as post-treatment process was proposed. EF with boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode ensured the gradual TOC removal under the action of (•)OH and BDD((•)OH), also transforming Br(-) into BrO3(-).
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Vigo , Isaac Newton Building, Campus As Lagoas, Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
Elvira
E
Bocos
Laboratori d'Electroquímica dels Materials i del Medi Ambient, Departament de Química Física, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona , Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Enric
E
Brillas
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Vigo , Isaac Newton Building, Campus As Lagoas, Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
M Ángeles
MÁ
Sanromán
Laboratori d'Electroquímica dels Materials i del Medi Ambient, Departament de Química Física, Facultat de Química, Universitat de Barcelona , Martí i Franquès 1-11, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Ignasi
I
Sirés
D001895:Boron; D018130:Diamond; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D004566:Electrodes; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D018130:Diamond; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D001895:Boron