Simultaneous wastewater treatment and H2 evolution using Mg-Cu galvanic coupling

Abstract

Contamination-free drinking water and potential sources of green energy are two major concerns of modern society. This article aims to address these through the development of some novel processes and facile experimental setups using analytical grade metals and seawater. Here, the Mg-Cu galvanic coupling process has been successfully used for dye removal from industrial wastewater and for green H2 production. It has been observed that the electrochemical process in the presence of seawater removes ∼100 % rhodamine B, ∼91 % methyl orange and ∼72 % methyl blue dyes within 240 min through an electrochemical reaction. The rate of dye degradation can be enhanced by increasing the area of the counter electrode. The H2 evolution is simultaneously observed from both window and counter electrodes during the dye degradation process. Collected H2 from both electrodes is equivalent to the NTP H2 volume against a meagre loss of metallic Mg dissolved in seawater. In the present work, H2 is produced for the first time by removing the pollutant from wastewater without using any external energy and without hindering the rate of H2 production.