Electrochemical advanced oxidation process for water treatment using DiaChem® electrodes

Abstract

Currently applied water treatment techniques consist of a combination of different methods to achieve the elimination of harmful pollutants. Within this field, the capability of electrochemical water treatment is still not exhaustively exploited due to the lack of for instance appropriate electrode materials. The chemical inertness and unique electrochemical properties of boron-doped diamond electrodes present great potential for electrochemical water treatment. DiaChem® electrodes show no fouling of the diamond surface and achieve current efficiency of up to 100% for pollutant oxidation. In particular, the high overvoltage before water decomposition opens the widest known electrochemical window, allowing the indirect oxidation of pollutants with hydroxyl radicals produced directly in water. Industrial application tests show the suitability of this electrochemical advanced oxidation process (EAOP) for wastewater treatment. In this paper, we summarize the production and characterization of diamond electrodes corresponding to the literature, as well as some of our findings on electrochemical water treatment with diamond electrodes, including results on the treatment of real wastewater from customers on a laboratory scale and the realization of a pilot plant for on-site pretreatment of wastewater streams.