Using an Ultrasonic Input for Ammonium Persulfate Electrosynthesis and Advanced Oxidation Processes

Abstract

The persulfate anion is a powerful oxidant that can be used for effective degradation of persistent organic pollutants. In this work, it is shown that low-power ultrasonic irradiation does not adversely affect Faradaic yields of persulfate electrosynthesis from ammonium sulfate solutions, and that a combined sono-electrochemical treatment of sulfate solutions containing exemplar pollutant naphthol blue-black provides swift degradation of dye solutions as compared to treatments where the sonochemical and electrochemical steps are performed separately. The implications for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants are discussed.