Electrochemical Treatment Research Articles

ELECTROCHEMICAL REDUCTION DOPING OF TiO2 NANOTUBES TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL WATER SPLITTING

TiO2 films being a 1D nanotube structure were obtained by electrochemical anodic oxidation of titanium foil. Electrochemical reduction activation of electrodes based on TiO2 nanotubes was carried out using the method of cyclic voltammetry (CV). The activated electrodes showed significantly higher current density and quantum efficiency of the photoelectrochemical water splitting compared to native TiO2 nanotubes. Electrochemical treatment of electrodes by the CV method leads to an increase in the photocurrent density from 4 to 14 times, depending on both the wavelength used and the applied potential. The analysis of electrochemical impedance spectra showed that the increase in the photoelectrochemical process performance is due to an increase in the charge transfer rate at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface, as well as improved electronic conductivity of the oxide layer, which contributes to better charge carrier separation and a decrease in their recombination rate.

Recycling of nutrient medium to improve productivity in large-scale microalgal culture using a hybrid electrochemical water treatment system

Recycling and reusing of nutrient media in microalgal cultivation are important strategies to reduce water consumption and nutrient costs. However, these approaches have limitations, e.g., a decrease in biomass production, (because as reused media can inhibit biomass growth). To address these limitations, we applied a novel membrane filtration‒electrolysis‒ultraviolet hybrid water treatment method capable of laboratory-to-large-scale operation to increase biomass productivity and enable nutrient medium disinfection and recycling. In laboratory-scale experiments, electrolysis effectively remove the biological contaminants from the spent nutrient medium, resulting in a high on-site removal efficiency of dissolved organic carbon (DOC; 80.3 ± 5 %) and disinfection (99.5 ± 0.2 %). Compared to the results for the recycling of nutrient medium without water treatment, electrolysis resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in biomass production, which was attributable to the removal of biological inhibitors from electrochemically produced oxidants (mainly OCl−). In scaled-up applications, the hybrid system improved the quality of the recycled nutrient medium, with 85 ± 2 % turbidity removal, 75 ± 3 % DOC removal, and 99.5 ± 2 % disinfection efficiency, which was beneficial for biomass growth by removing biological inhibitors. After applying the hybrid water treatment method, we achieved a Spirulina biomass production of 0.47 ± 0.03 g L−1, similar to that obtained using a fresh medium (0.53 ± 0.02 g L−1). The on-site disinfection process described herein is practical and offers a cost-saving and environmental friendly alternative for nutrient medium recycling and reusing water in mass and sustainable cultivation of microalgae.

Study of the Process of Electrochemical Oxidation of Active Pharmaceutical Substances on the Example of Nitrofurazone ((2E)-2-[(5-Nitro-2-furyl)methylene]hydrazine Carboxamide)

The effective mineralization of nitrofurazone (10–100 mg L−1) was performed in aqueous solutions in the presence of chloride ions by electrochemical treatment. The destruction of the organic pollutant molecules was due to their interaction with active oxygen- and chlorine-containing species forming at the inert anode (Pt/Ti or BDD) during electrolysis. Measurements of nitrofurazone concentration, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were used to estimate the removal efficiency of the pollutant. Both the pollutant oxidation rate and the degree of its mineralization were higher for the BDD anode due to the higher anode potentials on it in the course of electrolysis, which provides a high rate of active oxidizer species generation. As a result, practically full nitrofurazone molecule destruction (>99%) was achieved in 30 min at an anodic current density of 0.1 A cm−2, a volume current density of 1.33 A L−1 and pH 2 using BDD anodes. On the other hand, the nitrafurazone degradation efficiency was about 95% for Pt/Ti anodes under the same conditions. Additionally, byproducts of nitrofurazone electrooxidation were investigated by means of liquid chromato-mass-spectrometry (LC/MS). It was found that the initial decolorization of nitrofurazone solution, which occurs during the first 5 min of electrolysis, is due to the formation of a dichloro derivative of nitrofurazone, which causes the destruction of the π−conjugated bond system. Further electrolysis resulted in the almost complete destruction of the dichloro derivative within 30 min of electrochemical treatment.

Cr-Doped FeC2O4 Microrods Formed Directly on AISI 420 Stainless Steel to Enhance Electrochemical NO3- Reduction to N2 at Circumneutral pH.

We synthesized low-cost cathodes for use in the electrochemical NO3- reduction reaction (NO3RR) via the simple reconstruction of AISI 420 stainless steel (SS). Thermochemical treatment of the SS in oxalic acid generated iron oxalate (FeC2O4) microrods (BL-SS), with further anodization affording Cr-doped Fe2O3 (R-SS) or FeC2O4 (G-SS). G-SS displayed supreme N2 selectivity during galvanostatic electrolysis at circumneutral pH. Electroanalysis and descriptor/scavenger analysis indicated that Fe sites were the primary active sites of NO3- adsorption, with C2O42- as the H-binding sites. The C2O42- ligands and Cr dopants altered the electronic structures of the Fe sites. A parametric study of the current density, pH, [NO3-]0, and [Cl-]0 indicated an Eley-Rideal N2 generation mechanism, with NO2- as an intermediate. Cl- elevated the N2 selectivity but reduced the NO3RR efficiency. To demonstrate the practical applicability of G-SS with a proposed regeneration strategy, its durability was examined in synthetic and real wastewater matrices. Compared with that in synthetic wastewater, G-SS displayed more stable performance in real wastewater owing to the natural buffering capacity at the cathode, which reduced the corrosion rate. Cr-doped FeC2O4 is viable for use in the low-cost, efficient electrochemical treatment of wastewater containing NO3-.

Electrochemical oxidation treatment of reverse osmosis concentrated landfill leachate: Effect of operation parameters and evolution of dissolved organic matter

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is a viable option for the advanced treatment of reverse osmosis concentrated landfill leachate (ROCLL). This work characterized dissolved organic matter (DOM) in ROCLL with size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and then investigated the impact of operating parameters on the removal of DOM fractions with response surface methodology (RSM). The SEC chromatograms revealed that the DOM fractions in ROCLL comprised of biopolymers (BP, > 18 kDa), humic substances (HS, 0.45–18 kDa) and low molecular weight substances (LMWS, < 0.45 kDa). For the EO configuration with different anodes, the BDD film anode showed the highest removal efficiency for DOM in terms of COD, DOC, UVA254 and fluorescence indices, followed by Ti, graphite, Ti/RuO2-IrO2 and Ti/SnO2-Sb2O5 anodes. The RSM experiments suggested that pH was the most critical factor to enhance the removal of all DOM fractions, and acidification pretreatment could remove approximately 50% BP and 30% HS fractions due to the pH-induced precipitation. The DOC removal kinetics of DOM fractions could be described by pseudo-zero kinetic model with rates in the order of HS > LMWS > BP, which were controlled by charge transfer process. Differently, the elimination of chromophores and fluorophores followed pseudo-first kinetics, which was limited by mass transport process. Via nonnegativity matrix factorization (NMF) deconvolution of the SEC-OCD chromatograms, BP-C1, HS-C2 and LMWS-C1 subfractions required to be removed through further treatment after EO process. This work demonstrates the potential for SEC analysis coupled with mathematical approaches to give informative insights into the evolution of DOM and provide optimization strategies for the EO treatment of complex ROCLL.

Packed OV-SnO2-Sb bead-electrodes for enhanced electrocatalytic oxidation of micropollutants in water

Electrocatalytic oxidation is an appealing treatment option for emerging micropollutants in wastewater, however, the limited reactive surface area and short service lifetime of planar electrodes hinder their industrial applications. This study introduces an innovative electrochemical wastewater treatment technology that employs packed bead-electrodes (PBE) as a dynamic electrocatalytic filter on a dimensionally stable anode (DSA) acting as a current collector. By using PBE, the electroactive volume is expanded beyond the vicinity of the common planar anode to the thick porous media of PBE with a vast electrocatalytic surface area. This greatly enhances the efficiency of electrochemical degradation of micropollutants. The OV-SnO2-Sb PBE filter achieved a nearly 100 % degradation of moxifloxacin (MOX) in under 2 min of single-pass filtration, with a degradation rate over an order of magnitude higher than the conventional electrochemical oxidation processes. The generation of abundant radical species (•OH) and non-radical species (1O2 and O3), along with the enhanced direct oxidation, led to the outstanding performance of the charged PBE system in MOX degradation. The OV-SnO2-Sb PBE was remarkably stable, and the separation between the electroactive PBE layer and the base Ti anode allows for easy renewal of the bead-electrode materials and scaling up of the system for practical applications. Overall, our study presents a dynamic electroactive PBE that advances the electrocatalytic oxidation technology for effective control of emerging pollutants in the water environment. This technology has the potential to revolutionize electrochemical wastewater treatment and contribute to a more sustainable future environment.

Formation of oxidation byproducts during electrochemical treatment of simulated produced water

Electrochemical oxidation (EO) can effectively remove recalcitrant organic contaminants from produced water (PW) but the formation of toxic oxidation byproducts (OBPs) is an unintended consequence. This study has rigorously investigated the OBPs formation during the EO treatment of a simulated PW containing phenol - a common organic contaminant existing in PW, as a model contaminant. In the absence of ammonia, free chlorine was generated from Cl- oxidation to serve as the main oxidant for phenol oxidation. During the EO process, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 2,6-dichlorobenzoquinone were identified as the critical intermediates that led to the formation of carbonaceous OBPs (C-OBPs). Some C-OBPs like chloroform (TCM), chloral hydrate (CH), and trichloroacetic acid (TCAA) reached their peak concentrations of 15 – 180 μM that were then reduced to 1 – 115 μM via volatilization and/or electrochemical reduction. When ammonia was present, nitrogenous OBPs (N-OBPs) were formed with the peak levels of 1 – 10 μM at the chlorination breakpoint (when ammonia was completely removed) that were subsequently reduced below 1 uM via volatilization and/or hydrolysis. It was observed that ammonia significantly decreased the formation of both C-OBPs and chlorate due to the consumption of free chlorine. A higher current density accelerated OBPs formation rates with different effects on volatile and non-volatile OBPs. The results of this study will enhance our understanding of OBPs formation precursors and mechanisms during electrochemical process and help develop strategies for proper control of OBPs to achieve safer electrochemical wastewater treatment.

The effect of microbial electrolysis cell coupled with anaerobic digestion for landfill leachate treatment

Landfill leachate contained high salinity and refractory organic compounds, poses significant challenges for treatment. The microbial electrolysis cell coupled with anaerobic digestion (MEC-AD) offers an effective solution by enhancing current transfer and improving electrochemical treatment efficacy across different salinity. The effects of landfill leachate salinity (5–40 g/L) on both MEC-AD and AD were investigated in this study. The findings revealed that at 10 g/L of NaCl concentration, the MEC-AD achieved 37 % of COD removal rate. Furthermore, even when the NaCl concentration was increased to 24 g/L and 40 g/L, MEC-AD continued to outperform AD. In MEC-AD, the complementary cyclic voltammetry (CV) demonstrated that increased salinity enhances the electrochemical activity and electron transfer capacity of the anode biofilm. Additionally, microbial community analysis revealed progressive shift in the dominant microbial phyla from Firmicutes (26 %) and Chloroflexi (22 %) to Proteobacteria (23–39 %), Chloroflexi (25–39 %), and Bacteroidota (10–21 %).

Effect of chemical–electrochemical surface treatment on the roughness and fatigue performance of porous titanium lattice structures

Additive manufacturing (AM) has enabled the fabrication of extremely complex components such as porous metallic lattices, which have applications in aerospace, automotive, and in particular biomedical devices. The fatigue resistance of these materials is currently an important limitation however, due to manufacturing defects such as semi-fused particles and weld lines. In this work a chemical–electrochemical surface treatment (Hirtisation®) is used for post-processing of Ti-6Al-4V lattices, reducing the strut surface roughness (Sa) from 12 to 6 μm, removing all visible semi-fused particles. The evenness of this treatment in lattices with relative density up to 18.3% and treatment depth of 6.5 mm was assessed, finding no evidence of reduced effectiveness on internal surfaces. After normalising to quasi-static mechanical properties to account for material losses during hirtisation (34%–37% reduction in strut diameter), the fatigue properties show a marked improvement due to the reduction in surface roughness. Normalised high cycle fatigue strength increased from around 0.1 to 0.16-0.21 after hirtisation, an average increase of 80%. For orthopaedic implant devices where matching the stiffness of surrounding bone is crucial, the fatigue strength to modulus ratio is a key metric. After hirtisation the fatigue strength to modulus ratio increased by 90%, enabling design of stiffness matched implant materials with greater fatigue strength. This work demonstrates that hirtisation is an effective method for improving the surface roughness of porous lattice materials, thereby enhancing their fatigue performance.

Electrochemically Triggered Self-Adaptive Reconstruction of an all-Purpose Electrode for Photothermally Enhanced Capacitors.

Large-capacity energy storage devices are attracting widespread research attention. However, the decreased capacity of these devices due to cold weather is a huge obstacle for their practical use. In this study, an electrochemical self-adaptive reconstructed Cux S/Cu(OH)2 -based symmetric energy storage device is proposed. This device provides a satisfactorily enhanced photothermal capacity under solar irradiation. After electrochemical reconstruction treatment, the morphological structure is rearranged and the Cux S component is partially converted to electrochemically active Cu(OH)2 with the introduction of a large number of active sites. The resulting Cux S/Cu(OH)2 electrode provides a significant capacitance of 115.2 F cm-2 at 5mA cm-2 . More importantly, its wide working potential range and superior photo-to-thermal conversion ability endow Cux S/Cu(OH)2 with superb performance as full-purpose photothermally enhanced capacitance electrodes. Under solar irradiation, the surface temperature of Cux S/Cu(OH)2 is elevated by 76.6°C in only 30 s, and the capacitance is boosted to 230.4% of the original capacitance at a low temperature. Furthermore, the assembled symmetric energy storage device also delivers a photothermal capacitance enhancement of 200.3% under 15min solar irradiation.

Electrochemical treatment to arrest OH− leaching from cement paste in an aquatic environment

The present study concerns a mitigation of OH− leaching in the cement paste immersed in external water by applying the electrochemical treatment, prior to an exposure to external water. The cement paste specimen was fabricated and exposed to an aquatic environment under air-tight condition. The OH− leaching took place significantly for the first 24 h, followed by a further leaching of OH− ions. As for the electrochemical treatment, an increase in the current density and duration of the treatment resulted in a decrease in the OH− leaching. In particular, the OH− leaching was dramatically reduced at 1000 mA/m2 for 4 weeks. The cumulative OH− concentration leached from the cement matrix accounted for only 1.40 × 10−6 mol/l in 100 days monitoring, whilst untreated specimen leached 0.29 mol/l OH− ions in external water. Moreover, the pH profile in the cement paste indicated the higher alkalinity at electrochemical treatment.

Cyclic Voltammetry on Carbon in Sulphuric Acid and Its Relationship to Electrode Kinetics in Vanadium Flow Batteries

Demand for energy stability and balancing of electricity is growing rapidly, driven by the increased use of energy from renewable sources such as the sun, wind and ocean. Due to the intermittency and/or unpredictability of such sources, there is a growing need for energy storage solutions that allow such energy to be harvested when available and stored until needed. Redox flow batteries offer a promising solution for large-scale energy storage and several advantages over other electrical energy storage technologies. For example, their power output and energy capability can be scaled independently of one another to suit the desired application.Among the numerous flow battery systems, vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are the most common commercial system in operation or development worldwide.The main advantage of VFBs is that they use the same element on both sides which reduces cross-contamination problems due to mass transfer, in turn resulting in long operational lifetimes without the need for expensive system reconditioning.In the literature, there is considerable variation in the data regarding the kinetics of vanadium reactions at carbon electrodes.1,2 We have previously1-4 reported that cathodic treatment enhances the kinetics of the positive (VIV-VV) electrode in VFBs but inhibits the kinetics of the negative (VII-VIII) electrode, while anodic treatment inhibits the kinetics of the positive electrode but enhances the kinetics of the negative electrode. Recently, we have shown evidence that cathodic treatment can also inhibit activity of the positive electrode and that anodic treatment can also inhibit activity of the negative electrode, confirming the existence of three states of carbon.1,4 In addition, we showed evidence that the activity of carbon-based electrodes depends strongly on the electrode history and in particular on the most positive and most negative potential used to treat an electrode.4 In this presentation, we will show how cyclic voltammetry of carbon electrodes in sulphuric acid (in the absence of a vanadium redox couple) varies as the electrochemical treatment of the electrode and the cyclic voltammetry window are changed. Furthermore, we will relate these cyclic voltammetry results to the enhancement and inhibition of both VII-VIII and VIV-VV kinetics at carbon electrodes that have undergone the same electrochemical treatments. A. Bourke, M. A. Miller, R. P. Lynch, X. Gao, J. Landon, J. S. Wainright, R. F. Savinell and D. N. Buckley, J. Electrochem. Soc. 163, A5097 (2016).A. Bourke, M. A. Miller, R. P. Lynch, J. S. Wainright, R. F. Savinell and D. N. Buckley, J. Electrochem. Soc., 162, A1547 (2015).M. A. Miller, A. Bourke, N. Quill, J. S. Wainright, R. P. Lynch, D. N. Buckley and R. F. Savinell, J. Electrochem. Soc., 163, A2095 (2016).M. Al Hajji Safi, A. Bourke, D. N. Buckley, R. P. Lynch, ECS Trans., 109, 67-84 (2022).

Selective Separation between Ammonium and Potassium in a Membrane-Separated Magnesium-Based Electrochemical Process

Increasing trends in global food and water demands alongside growing environmental concerns press the need for developing new wastewater management strategies. Modern wastewater treatment facilities should provide nutrient recovery and recycling, localized production capabilities, and low energy consumption. Magnesium-based electrochemical wastewater treatment processes are one technology option with the potential to address these needs by providing opportunities for simultaneous recovery of valuable resources from waste streams. In this system, phosphate and ammonium coprecipitate with the magnesium released from the sacrificial anode, producing struvite, NH4MgPO4, as a fertilizer. This technology also eliminates the disadvantages of the commonly used chemical precipitation method of struvite recovery, including magnesium salt dosing, and adding base to the system for pH control, due to in situ magnesium corrosion and hydroxide production at the magnesium anode surface.In this presentation, we specifically focus on a membrane-separated electrochemical process with a solid magnesium electrode. A complex synthetic water matrix including key ions such as ammonium, potassium, and phosphorus with other background salts was made for the anodic chamber to simulate animal liquid manures. Sodium sulfate solution was used as the supporting electrolyte on the cathodic chamber. Two different cation exchange membranes (CEMs) were placed between the two compartments to separate the anolyte from the catholyte. All experiments were conducted under OCV (no external energy input), and ion concentrations in each chamber were tracked over time using ion chromatography to perform kinetic study. The produced precipitates from each experiment are collected and have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to identify the morphology and purity of the produced solid precipitates. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) were used to exactly identify the nature of the precipitates. Experimental results indicate that magnesium electrode corrosion under OCV in the anolyte will decrease ammonium separation through the CEM to the catholyte compared to potassium.

Improvement of Adhesion and Corrosion Resistance of TiO2 Nanotubes on Ta6V Alloy

Titanium and its alloys are used In orthopedic and dental implants due to their good corrosion resistance thanks to the passive native film and biological compatibility. Nevertheless, the increase in life expectancy being higher that the corrosion resistance of such thin layer, several treatments were developped. Among them, electrochemical TiO2 nanotubes allow to increase the corrosion resistance, overcome the bioinert nature of a flat surface that is not favorable for cell development, but suffer of a poor adhesion on Ti surface.The goal of this communication is to evaluate the corrosion performance as well as the adhesion properties of single and combined electrochemical treatments made on TA6V titanium alloy, including nanostructured (N), compact (C), and dual treated (NC) layers. The influence of potential used for the compact oxidation was evaluated on C and NC systems. The best potential from a corrosion point of view was determined to elaborate an optimal NC film. Given that the hydrophilicity is correlated with cellular adhesion and protein adsorption, water contact angle measurements were realized directly after the treatments and one month later. Since the surfaces became more hydrophobic by ageing, two different ways were tested to recover their initial hydrophilic behavior.

Electrochemical Growth and Restructuring of Cu Surfaces for Steering the Selectivity of Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 into value-added chemicals is commonly performed with catalysts composed of Cu due to its unique ability to create carbon-carbon bonds. Numerous studies have shown that the surface facets of the Cu catalyst play an important role on the observed distributions of both C1 products (i.e. carbon monoxide vs. methane) and C2 products (i.e. ethanol vs. ethylene). Here, we discuss our efforts towards controlling the surface facets of Cu electrocatalysts via electrochemical treatments for steering the selectivity of CO2 reduction in aqueous media. Using both planar Cu films and Cu nanoparticles, we will show how the applied potential and chemical composition of the growth solution can be manipulated to tailor the surface facets of Cu electrocatalysts. Finally, we will present the results of electrocatalytic CO2 reduction with these Cu catalysts and highlight opportunities for using simple electrochemical techniques to manipulate and control the surface facets of electrocatalysts for the production of chemical fuels.

A pilot scale of electrochemical integrated treatment technology and equipment driven by solar energy for decentralized domestic sewage treatment

Based on the natural air diffusion electrode (NADE) cathode, a solar-driven electrochemical integrated sewage treatment technology and equipment in a pilot scale was developed to treat dispersed rural wastewater. The non-aeration NADE had efficient and stable H2O2 production performance, maintaining the H2O2 output between 1474 and 1535 mg h−1 within 50 h with the current efficiency of 77.4%–80.6%. This electrochemical integrated wastewater treatment system was coupled with technologies such as dual-cathode electro-Fenton, peroxi-coagulation and photoelectro-Fenton, which effectively improved the conversion and utilization efficiency of H2O2. It integrated Fenton-like oxidation, electro-oxidation and UV/H2O2, as well as Fe(OH)3-dominated flocculation, which could effectively remove various pollutants in wastewater. The integrated sewage treatment equipment (500 L d−1) realized the effective treatment of a rural decentralized domestic sewage, achieving simultaneous removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH3–N, total phosphorus (TP) and bacteria. Driven by solar energy, its application feasibility, superiority and stability have been proved, providing theoretical and technical support for the efficient and low-consumption treatment of dispersed organic wastewater.

Removal of disinfection byproducts through integrated adsorption and reductive degradation in a membrane-less electrochemical system

Proper control/removal of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) is important to drinking water safety and human health. In this study, a membrane-less electrochemical system was developed and investigated to remove DPBs through integrated adsorption and reduction by granular activated carbon (GAC)-based cathode. Representative DPBs including trihalomethanes and haloacetonitriles at drinking water concentrations were used for removal experiments. The proposed system achieved >70% removal of most DBPs in a batch mode. The comparison with control tests under either open circuit or hydrolysis demonstrated the advantages of electrochemical treatment, which not only realized higher DPBs removal but also extended GAC cathode lifetime. Such advantages were further demonstrated with continuous treatment. High dechlorination and debromination efficiencies were obtained in both batch (82.2 and 94.3%) and continuous (79.3 and 87.6%) reactors. DBPs removal was mainly contributed by the electrochemical reduction and adsorption by the GAC-based cathode, while anode showed little oxidizing effect on DBPs and halide ions. Dehalogenated products of chloroform and dichloroacetonitrile were identified with toxicity reduction. The energy consumption of the continuously operated system was estimated to be 0.28 to 0.16 kWh m−3. The proposed system has potential applications for wastewater reuse or further purification of drinking water.

Effect of biochar on petroleum hydrocarbon degradation and energy production in microbial electrochemical treatment

Petroleum and petroleum product exploration, transportation, processing, and burning negatively impact soil ecosystems and cause severe damage. Hence, a study was conducted to evaluate the performance of microbial electrochemical treatment (MET) in terms of biodegradation and electricity generation with petroleum hydrocarbon-polluted soil by adding rice straw biochar pyrolyzed at 600 °C for different doses of 4%, 8%, and 12% w/w. This study confirmed for the first time that increasing the dose of biochar from 8% to 12% w/w in the anodic chamber of MET led to a decrease in its degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons from 87.8% to 49.2% and its current density from 3.5 A/m2 to 0.5 A/m2 in 20 days. Moreover, the relative abundance of Desulfuromonas and Geobacter, which have been reported to participate in inter-species electron transfer as electroactive bacteria, also decreased from 52.32% to 1.5% and 3.47–1.4%, respectively. This apparent change in primary genera further suggested that biochar content was the core factor reshaping the distribution of the bacterial community. The electrochemical investigation also shows that the redox-active quinone in biochar is responsible for extracellular electron transfer. The results of this study showed that the effectiveness of biochar for the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons using microbial electrochemical treatment depends on the dose of biochar in the soil.

Cork barriers for the remediation of soils polluted with lindane

The in-situ removal of lindane from spiked soil was studied using cork barriers combined with electrokinetic and ohmic heating soil remediation processes. Both vertical and horizontal cork barriers have been evaluated to retain pollutants mobilized by electro-osmotic flow or volatilized by ohmic heating. Moreover, the addition of surfactant solutions in electrolyte wells has been evaluated to promote the dragging of lindane by electrokinetic fluxes. Results indicated that the drag of lindane by liquid flows is not as important as expected, opposite to what happened with the dragging by gaseous flows. The retention of gaseous lindane was also confirmed in adsorption tests carried out in a column packed with cork granules. The addition of surfactant had a very limited effect on the mobility of lindane, and dragging of this species to the electrode wells or to a permeable reactive barrier. On the contrary, the reactivity of lindane during the electrochemical treatments is relevant due to the electrokinetic basic front promoting the in-situ conversion of lindane into less chlorinated pollutants.

Decolorization, COD and turbidity removal of the raw vinasse effluent by a one-step electro-oxidation process on a Pb/PbO2 anode.

In this research, and for the first time, the application of anode Pb/PbO2 (prepared from combined thermal oxidation and electrochemical oxidation method) and steel cathode in a flow sample electrochemical treatment process of vinasse and in the wastewater of alcohol factories, has been investigated. The combination of electrodes of Pb/PbO2 as an anode, steel, and/or graphite as a cathode was used in the proposed electrochemical treatment setup. The efficiency of the proposed electrochemical treatment was determined by the removal percentage of chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity and color of vinasse samples. The response surface method (RSM) by Minitab 18 was used to determine the effect of the studied factors as well as to detect the relationship between variables. The results showed that under optimum conditions (Pb/PbO2 electrode as the anode and steel electrode as the cathode, a voltage of 30 V, pH 6.5, and reaction time of 45 min), the percentage reduction values of COD, turbidity and color were 97.7, 77.3 and 92.7%, respectively.