Effect of the electrolyte on the electrolysis and photoelectrolysis of synthetic methyl paraben polluted wastewater

In this work, the electrochemical oxidation of methyl paraben (MeP) with diamond electrodes is studied. Results point out that this preservative can be easily removed from wastewater, either in sulfate or chloride media. Pollutant removal is faster in chloride media due to the chlorination of the mo...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Dawany, Dionisio, Motheo, Artur, Sáez Jiménez, Cristina, Rodrigo Rodrigo, Manuel Andrés
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/29305
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2018.03.009
http://hdl.handle.net/10578/29305
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Methyl-paraben
Diamond anodes
Electrolysis
Photoelectrolysis
Synergism
Descripción
Sumario:In this work, the electrochemical oxidation of methyl paraben (MeP) with diamond electrodes is studied. Results point out that this preservative can be easily removed from wastewater, either in sulfate or chloride media. Pollutant removal is faster in chloride media due to the chlorination of the molecule. However, mineralization is faster in sulfate media. Current density does not have a clear influence on the efficiency, explained by a mediated oxidation control of the process. Irradiation by UV light produces a synergistic effect on the process, which is greater in sulfate than in chloride media, a behavior that could be initially understood in terms of the formation of sulfate and chloride radicals. However, chemical tests showed that persulfate is not active for the oxidation of MeP neither in dark conditions nor under UV irradiation and that hypochlorite is active in the chlorination of the MeP molecule but not in the mineralization. Consequently, these results can be better explained considering the oxidizing effect of ozone and hydrogen peroxide, which are produced during the electrolysis on the surface of diamond, and that within the reaction conditions undertaken, are unstable and decompose to hydroxyl radicals. Regarding electrolysis in chloride media, although chlorates or perchlorates are produced, UV light significantly delays the appearance of both species.