Abstract
Microbial electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide is receiving growing interest for a green substitute for anthraquinone process.However, poor oxygen transmission of electrode remains an obstacle to enhance H2O2 production rate without aeration. Here, a superhydrophobic natural air diffusion floating electrode (NADFE), which naturally and efficiently entraps O2 in the air, was proposed for the first time to improve microbial electrosynthesis of H2O2. Furthermore, a one-step calcined electrode preparation method was developed to reduce energy consumption further. In the microbial electrolysis cell with the NADFE, a high H2O2 production rate of 39 mg/L/h and current efficiency of 86% were achieved without aeration. The production rate of H2O2 was 2.2 times that of a gas diffusion electrode. Importantly, the energy consumption was 34.3 times lower than an electrochemical system. Therefore, the high H2O2 production rate and current efficiency, and low energy consumption of the process provide a superior alternative for environmental remediation.
Highlights
As one of the most important fundamental chemicals, H2O2 is widely used in chemical synthesis and environmental remediation (Wang et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2021; Zhu et al, 2012)
In the microbial electrolysis cell with the natural air diffusion floating electrode (NADFE), a high H2O2 production rate of 39 mg/L/h and current efficiency of 86% were achieved without aeration
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), a typical microbial electrochemical system, have attracted a significant amount of atten tion, because they can produce valuable products (e.g. H2 and H2O2) with a small voltage input by using electrical energy harvested from organic matter in wastewater (Huang et al, 2019; Logan et al, 2006; Rozendal et al, 2008)
Summary
As one of the most important fundamental chemicals, H2O2 is widely used in chemical synthesis and environmental remediation (Wang et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2021; Zhu et al, 2012). Gas diffusion elec trodes (GDEs), which were able to adsorb partial O2 in the atmosphere, were developed and used in MEC cathodes to reduce part of energy costs and increase the efficiency of H2O2 production (Li et al, 2016; Sim et al, 2018; Young et al, 2016). A superhydrophobic natural air diffusion elec trode (NADE) was recently designed and applied in electrochemical systems for H2O2 production NADE was prepared through a traditional two-step high-temperature calcination method, it may have more energy consumption compared to the one-step option. In this study, to cost-effectively produce H2O2 without aera tion, the performance of H2O2 production in the MEC using a natural air diffusion floating electrode (NADFE) was investigated for the first time. H2O2 produced by a MEC with one-step calcined NADFE was applied to a Fenton-like (Fe(II)/citric acid/H2O2) system for the removal of 11 typical refractory micropollutants in the municipal effluent at a natural pH
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