Phenol removal by electro-Fenton process using a 3D electrode with iron foam as particles and carbon fibre modified with graphene

Abstract

The 3D electro-Fenton technique is, due to its high efficiency, one of the technologies suggested to eliminate organic pollutants in wastewater. The type of particle electrode used in the 3D electro-Fenton process is one of the most crucial variables because of its effect on the formation of reactive species and the source of iron ions. The electrolytic cell in the current study consisted of graphite as an anode, carbon fiber (CF) modified with graphene as a cathode, and iron foam particles as a third electrode. A response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used to optimize the 3D electro-Fenton process. The RSM results revealed that the quadratic model has a high R2 of 99.05 %. At 4 g L-1 iron foam particles, time of 5 h, and 1 g of graphene, the maximum efficiency of phenol removal of 92.58 % and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 89.33 % were achieved with 32.976 kWh kg-1 phenol of consumed power. Based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) results, the time has the highest impact on phenol removal efficiency, followed by iron foam and graphene dosage. In the present study, the 3D electro-Fenton technique with iron foam partials and carbon fiber modified with graphene was detected as a great choice for removing phenol from aqueous solutions due to its high efficiency, formation of highly reactive species, with excellent iron ions source electrode.