Highly applicable dual-cathode electro-Fenton system with self-adjusting pH and ferrous species

Abstract

Due to the high dependence on the pH of influent water and the level of ferrous species, the applicability of the electro-Fenton (EF) system is poor. A highly applicable dual-cathode (DC) EF system with self-adjusting pH and ferrous species is proposed: gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for generation H2O2 and Fe/S doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Fe/S-MWCNT) modification active cathode (AC) for adjusting pH and iron species. The strong synergistic enhancement effect between two cathodes (synergy factor up to 90.3%) improves the catalytic activity of this composite system about 12.4 times higher than that of cathode alone. Impressively, AC has the ability of self-regulate to shift towards the optimal Fenton pH (around 3.0) without adding reagents. Even pH can be adjusted from 9.0 to 3.4 within 60 min. This characteristic gives the system a wide range of pH applications, while avoiding the disadvantage of the high cost of traditional EF in pre-acidification. Furthermore, DC has a high and stable ferrous species supply, and the iron leaching amount is about twice less than that of heterogeneous EF system. Long-term stability of the DC system and its easy activity regeneration exhibit the potential of environmental remediation in industrial application.