Electrochemical degradation of herbicide diuron on flow-through electrochemical reactor and CFD hydrodynamics simulation

Abstract

An energy-efficient continuous flow-through electrochemical reactor (FT-ER) equipped with PbO2 filter anodes is designed and employed for electrochemical elimination towards herbicide diuron in the aquatic environment. Boosting performances, including substantially higher electrochemical mineralization kinetics and lower energy consumption, could be realized on the FT-ER compared with the traditional flow-by model. The effect of current density and flow rate on the degradation efficiency is also investigated. The glorious degradation kinetics could be ascribed to the large electrochemical surface area, strong generation power of reactive oxidants, and enhanced mass transfer process derived from the filter structure. Furthermore, we establish the computational fluid dynamics simulation to elucidate the dynamic flow behavior of the electrolyte, including fluid velocity and turbulent intensity distribution. The profound influence of FT-ER for the herbicide diuron removal stems from the homogenization of electrolyte flux and turbulence promoter of the filter structure. Finally, the continuous flow-through configuration exhibits excellent elimination performances, uniform fluid dynamics together with good stability. The filter anodes present a promising option for electrochemical treatment towards diverse organic pollutants in the aquatic environment and would be benefit to the evolution of cost-efficient electrochemical treatment techniques and reactors.