Electronic versions

  • Vitor L. Martins
    University of Sheffield
  • Mark Ogden
    University of Sheffield
  • Mark R. Jones
    University of Sheffield
  • Sam A. Trowsdale
    University of Auckland
  • Peter J. Hall
    University of Sheffield
  • Henriette S. Jensen
    University of Sheffield
Micropollutants are found in many waters at concentrations that are concerning for living and environmental systems. They are usually characterised as being persistent and are generally difficult to remove from the water using traditional techniques. In this work, we investigate a treatment technology that couples electrooxidation of micropollutants with subsequent absorption of charged products and remaining compounds through a mixed strong acid and strong base ion exchange resin. The results clearly show that carbon fibre is a promising electrode material. Electrooxidation of the drug Ibuprofen using carbon fibre in a coulombic efficiency of 13 mC/ppm removed 71% of the compound after two hours (down to 29 ppm). The addition of sodium chloride led to a near doubling of the pseudo-first order reaction rate from 1.7 to 3.0 10−4 s−1. A mix of Ibuprofen and the pesticide Diuron showed similarly promising results and while the overall oxidation decreased the positive effect of sodium chloride was present. Strikingly, coupling electrooxidation with a mixed bed ion exchange resin removed both compounds, decreasing levels of Diuron to below the limit of detection (18 ppb) and Ibuprofen down to 0.8 ppm. The approach shows potential as a treatment technology for the removal of complex pollutants in water.

Keywords

  • Electrooxidation, Wastewater treatment, Micropollutants, Ion-exchange
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)116522
Number of pages8
JournalSeparation and Purification Technology
Volume239
Early online date11 Jan 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2020
Externally publishedYes
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