Electrochemical Degradation of Textile Effluent Using PbO2 Electrode in Tube Electrolyzer

Abstract

<p>A commercial PbO<sub>2</sub> mesh cylinder electrode was utilized as the anode for the electrochemical degradation of the textile effluent after the biological treatment with the titanium cylinder as the cathode in a self-made tube electrolyzer. The electrochemical performances of the PbO<sub>2</sub> electrode in tube electrolyzer under different initial pH, electrolyte flow rates, current densities and times of the electrochemical degradation were investigated. The experimental results illustrated that the PbO<sub>2</sub> electrode can reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the textile effluent from 94.0 mg L<sup>−1</sup> to 65.0 mg L<sup>−1</sup> with the current efficiency of 88.3%, the energy consumption of 27.7 kWh kg<sup>−1</sup> (per kilogram of degraded COD) and the carbon emissions of 18.0 kg CO<sub>2</sub> kg<sup>−1</sup> (per kilogram of degraded COD) under the optimal operating conditions. In addition, the COD of the textile effluent could be reduced from 94.0 mg L<sup>−1</sup> to 22.0 mg L<sup>−1</sup> after the fifth electrochemical degradation. Therefore, PbO<sub>2</sub> mesh cylinder electrode in the tube cylinder was promising for the electrochemical degradation of the textile effluent.</p>