Electrochemical Treatment Research Articles

Effect of combination of microstructure and surface treatment on shear strength of precision bonded joints

ABSTRACT To improve the bonding strength of precision adhesive joints, mechanical and electrochemical surface treatments were combined to modify the original bonding surfaces. Microgrooves with different aspect ratios were manufactured on aluminum-alloy surfaces and phosphoric acid anodizing (PAA) was then applied to the surfaces. Wettability, shear strength, and fracture morphology were tested and analyzed. PAA treatment could change the original flat surface to be hydrophilic, and microgrooves could further enhance these characteristics. Compared with the original flat surface, the shear strength of the micro-structured surfaces without PAA treatment increased by 8.54% at an aspect ratio of 0.02, but decreased by 0.22% and 1.90% as the aspect ratio increased to 0.04 and 0.08, respectively. The shear strength of the flat surface only treated by PAA increased by 22.88%, while combining microgrooves could further improve the shear strength by 38.17%, 39.09%, and 42.24% at aspect ratios of 0.02, 0.04, and 0.08, respectively. Fracture morphology analysis and observation of interfacial wetting indicated that manufacturing microgrooves and applying PAA treatment on the aluminum-alloy surfaces could eliminate many tiny interface failures and greatly increase the effective bonding area, which significantly improved the shear strength.

Advances in green materials derived from wood for detecting and removing mercury ions in water

The issue of mercury pollution in environmental remediation has garnered significant attention due to its severe health hazards to humans. Various strategies have been devised to mitigate the impact of toxic mercury ions, including coagulation, ion exchange, adsorption, membrane technology, and electrochemical treatment. Among these approaches, adsorption has emerged as an efficient and widely employed method for the uptake of low concentrations of mercury ions. It offers convenient operation, high removal efficiency, and facile regeneration of the adsorbent. Wood, being the most abundant renewable and sustainable bioresource, has garnered attention as a promising material for treating heavy metal wastewater. This is attributed to its unique physical and chemical characteristics, encompassing hierarchical pores, aligned channels, active functional groups, biodegradability, and cost-effectiveness. However, a comprehensive examination of the cutting-edge applications of wood and wood-derived biopolymers in the detection and removal of mercury ions from wastewater has yet to be undertaken. Consequently, this article presents a chronological overview of recent advancements in materials and structures derived from bulk wood and its constituents, including cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, and tannin, with a specific focus on their utility in detecting and eliminating mercury from water sources. Subsequently, the most promising techniques and strategies involving wood and wood-derived biopolymers in addressing the predicament of mercury pollution are explored. Furthermore, this piece offers insights into the existing challenges and future prospects concerning environmentally friendly materials derived from wood, aiming to foster the development of cost-effective mercury adsorbents and detection devices.

Electrochemical oxidation of a real effluent using selective cathodic and anodic strategies to simultaneously produce high value-added compounds: Green hydrogen and carboxylic acids

In this work, the simultaneous production of green hydrogen (H2) and carboxylic acids from the electrochemical treatment of washing machine effluent is demonstrated for the first time. The electrochemical treatment of the effluent was carried out using a solar-powered polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM-type) cell with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode as anode and a Ni-Fe-based SS (stainless steel) mesh as the cathode with two types of electrolytes (0.1 mol/L H2SO4 and 0.1 mol/L Na2SO4), by applying different current densities (j). A synthetic and non-destructive effluent transformation strategy was implemented by controlling the operating conditions in order to regulate precursor-intermediates, oxidants, and •OH production. The results show the formation of high value-added products (carboxylic acids) and energy sources (green H2) in the anodic and cathodic compartments, respectively, with the possibility of selective electroconversion to acetic acid depending on the electrolyte and j. The green H2 production rate is also influenced by the pH conditions, the electrolyte, and the anodic j. The technology proposed here may constitute a promising, efficient and sustainable route towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 7.

A sequential aerated electrocoagulation and peroxicoagulation process for the treatment of municipal stabilized landfill leachate by iron and graphite electrodes

Electrochemical treatment has emerged as a viable technology for the treatment of leachate due to its efficient removal of ammonaical nitrogen and other recalcitrant organics. The main technical issues that prevent its practical deployment are restricted performance of a single electrochemical process and the lengthy tertiary treatment time required to achieve the disposal quality standards. This study demonstrates the performance of electrochemical treatments such as peroxicoagulation (PC) and aerated electrocoagulation (A-EC) separately and also sequentially for the treatment of stabilized leachate. In aerated electro coagulation iron is used as both anode and cathode, whereas in peroxicoagulation, iron is used as anode and graphite as cathode. The area of electrode used for treatments was fixed as 12.5 cm2. The initial concentration of NH4–N, TN, COD, and TOC of the leachate was found to be 480 mg/L, 997 mg/L, 40,200 mg/L, and 9850 mg/L respectively. Removal efficiency of aerated electrocoagulation for NH4–N, TN, COD and TOC were 25.6%, 23.67%, 25.6% and 28.7% respectively, current density of 30 mAcm−2, electrolysis time of 60 min and pH 7.3. Meanwhile for peroxicoagulation, the removal efficiency was found to be 37.2%, 43%, 37.3%, and 45.6% for NH4–N, TN, COD, and TOC respectively, at an current density of 30 mAcm−2, electrolysis time of 120 min and a pH of 3. The sequential aerated electrocoagulation – peroxicoagulation process achieves a maximum removal efficiency of 63%, 68%, 78%, and 75% for NH4–N, total nitrogen, COD, and TOC respectively for a reaction time of 180 min. Removal of NH4–N, total nitrogen, COD and TOC from stabilized landfill leachate with a BOD/COD ratio less than 0.1 was very much effective with the sequential aerated electrocoagulation – peroxicoagulaton treatment. The results also indicate that for the treatment of leachate, a significant synergistic index of 1.22 exists between aerated electrocoagulation and peroxicoagulation.

Electro-oxidation of wastewater from a beauty salon: The influence of electrolyte type in the removal of organic load and energy consumption

The aim to ensure water quality and wastewater treatment is sought by the United Nations and expressly proposed in the sixth sustainable development goal (SDG6). As universally available services, beauty salons (BS) are places that deal with potentially hazardous chemicals, and their effluent should be treated before goes to the sewage system. This work presents a wide characterization of a BS effluent and its respective electrochemical treatment by using boron-doped diamond (BDD) as the anode, stainless steel as the cathode, as well as NaCl and Na2SO4 as additional supporting electrolytes. The effectiveness of the processes and the comparative study of the performance of the electrolytes were mainly performed by the analysis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and energy consumption. However, other parameters were taken into consideration, such as color, conductivity/salinity, pH, and more extensive analysis regarding the cause of turbidity and the appearance of a precipitate before and during the electrolysis. NaCl proved to be more efficient than Na2SO4 to treat this BS effluent; it was not only because achieves a better COD removal (70% against 64%, with a current density of 10 mA cm−2), but also because it promoted an effluent with less turbidity and color, besides a pH closer to neutral, with no need to further correction before discharge. Regarding the electrolyte concentration, the excess of salt proved to be necessary to promote a higher removal rate in COD values with less charge and energy consumption. Thus, the concentration of 0.16 M of NaCl associated with a current density of 10 mA cm−2 was chosen as the best condition for treating this effluent. In addition, Si-based oxides were detected in the raw effluent and these were pointed out as responsible for its high turbidity. Proper discharge of it into the sewage system is reached with NaCl as the electrolyte. The treatment proposed in this work deals with SDG6 and can be used as an alternative to decision-makers and governments to help in the implementation of better politics of water sanitation.

Removal of Organic Micro-Pollutants from Wastewater in Electrochemical Processes—Review

The aim of the paper is to present information from the literature concerning the course of electrochemical wastewater treatment processes in regard to organic micro-pollutant removal. Most often, in order to remove xenobiotics that are difficult to degrade biochemically, advanced oxidation processes and photochemical processes with or without catalysts are used. The efficiency of these processes can be supported by the flow of electric current through the solution being purified in a special system. This paper presents the theoretical foundations of processes such as electrocoagulation, electroflotation, and advanced chemical and photochemical oxidation supported by electric power. Among the processes where the Fenton’s reagent is the oxidant, the electro-Fenton and photo-electro-Fenton processes are also described. This information is supplemented with examples of the use of these processes for removal/degradation of selected organic compounds such as pesticides, dyes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic ingredients, and other organic xenobiotics from wastewater.

Enhanced electrocatalytic removal of tetracycline using dual carbon material combined particle electrodes in a three-dimensional electrochemical system: Degradation pathway and mechanism

In order to assemble low cost and high performance electrochemical oxidation system for wastewater treatment, biochar was decorated by graphene to synthesize carbon composite graphene/biochar (GBC) as particle electrode filled into a three-dimensional electrochemical reactor. The GBC particle electrodes demonstrated better electrochemical reaction activity than biochar (BC) particle electrodes. The GBC three-dimensional electrochemical reactor achieved 99.48% removal of tetracycline (5 mg/L) under an input voltage of 10 V. The electrochemical oxidation performance of GBC electrode system was competitive to some metal/metal oxides or metal/carbon material electrode system reported. The removal efficiency of tetracycline was less sensitive to the initial pH of solution from 3.0 to 11.0. The GBC electrode had higher oxygen evolution potential (OEP) (1.76 V), and lower Tafel slope (0.013 V dec−1) than that of the BC. Coated graphene improved electrical conductivity to prompt electron aggregation on surface of the biochar resulting in more reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The indirect electrochemical degradation of tetracycline was dominated by non-radicals pathway that singlet oxygen (1O2) rather than free radicals (·OH, O2·-) played the main role. This study proposed a new strategy to develop non-metallic particle electrodes using carbon-based materials for high efficient electrocatalytic oxidation in the electrochemical treatment system.

Solid Electrolyte Interphase Formation in Tellurium Iodide Perovskites during Electrochemistry and Photoelectrochemistry.

Halide perovskites are promising photoelectrocatalytic materials. Their further development requires understanding of surface processes during electrochemistry. Thin films of tellurium-based vacancy-ordered perovskites with formula A2TeI6, A = Cs, methylammonium (MA), were deposited onto transparent conducting substrates using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Thin film stability as electrodes and photoelectrodes was tested in dichloromethane containing tetrabutylammonium PF6 (TBAPF6). Using photoemission spectroscopy, we show that the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase on the surface of the Cs2TeI6, consisting of CsPF6, enhances the stability of the electrode and allows extended chopped-light chronoamperometry measurements at up to 1.1 V with a photocurrent density of 16 μA/cm2. In contrast, (CH3NH3)2TeI6 does not form a passivating layer and rapidly degrades upon identical electrochemical treatment. This demonstrates the importance of surface chemistry in halide perovskite electrochemistry and photoelectrocatalysis.

Fabrication of novel Ti/SnO2-Nb2O5 electrode in comparison with traditional doping metal oxides for electrochemical textile wastewater treatment

Textile wastewater contains a number of hazardous and refractory organic contaminants, especially various dyes such as cibacron, cycafix, monozol, and procion, that contribute to the negative effects of textile wastewater on aquatic creatures due to a limitation of light penetration and the consumption of oxygen. The selection of electrode materials is always a primary concern for electrochemical methods. SnO2-based electrodes are now being pursued by researchers due to their low cost. As a result, adding another stable oxide is recommended to enhance the efficiency and stability of SnO2-based electrodes. This study aims to fabricate the Ti/SnO2-Nb2O5 electrodes in comparison with different traditional doping metal oxides, Ti/SnO2-Sb2O5, Ti/SnO2-TiO2, and Ti/SnO2-Ta2O5, using the sol–gel method for electrochemical textile wastewater treatment. The electrode’s surface morphologies, crystal structures, and electrochemical characteristics were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and cyclic voltammetry (CV), respectively. The SEM images illustrated that the surfaces of the four electrodes had typical cracking structures of mixed metal oxide electrodes. The presence of crystalline structures of SnO2, Sb2O5, Nb2O5, TiO2, and Ta2O5 on the electrodes was clearly determined. The direct experimental comparisons indicated that the Ti/SnO2-Nb2O5 electrode performed the best among the four oxides in the treatment of textile wastewater, with 87.0% and 84.3% efficiency in removing COD and color, respectively. A current density of 5.8 mA/cm 2 and a NaCl concentration of 2 g/L were found to be optimal operating conditions. The electrochemical properties of the fabricated electrodes showed a high oxygen evolution potential, stability, and the generation of numerous free radicals and oxidants such as •OH, H2O2, O3, and Cl2. These findings serve to inform the future selection of appropriate metal oxides to reinforce SnO2 electrodes for textile wastewater treatment.

Self-supported polypyrrole flexible electrodes for electrochemical reduction of nitrite

The efficiency of an electrochemical oxidation/reduction process strongly depends on the working electrode's surface area to volume ratio. By making electrodes flexible and employing different configurations such as roll-to-roll membrane, the surface area to volume ratio can be enhanced, therefore improving the overall efficiency of electrochemical processes. Conductive polymers emerge as a new framework to enable alternative electrochemical water treatment cell configurations. Self-standing polypyrrole flexible electrodes were synthesized by electropolymerization and evaluated on the treatment of an oxyanion pollutant: nitrite. Mechanical characterization through stress-strain curves and bending tests demonstrated high electrode resilience that sustained over 1000 bending cycles without impacting mechanical integrity or electrocatalytic responses. The electrocatalytic response towards nitrite reduction was assessed under linear scan voltammetry (LSV) and removal performance evaluated under potentiostatic conditions reaching 79% abatement of initial concentrations of nitrite of 15 mg/L [NO2−-N]. Self-standing flexible electrodes appear as a novel framework to enable modular compact water treatment unit designs that maximize the electrode area/volume ratio and substitute expensive platinum group metal (PGMs) electrocatalysts.

Electrochemical treatment of wastewater containing urea-formaldehyde and melamine-formaldehyde

The wastewater containing urea-formaldehyde (UF) and melamine-formaldehyde (MF) from the medium-density fiberboard (MDF) lamination factory disposed into the waterbodies adversely affects human health and aquatic life. Therefore, its treatment before discharge is necessary. Researchers have used various techniques to treat this type of wastewater in the past, but none have tried electrochemical (EC). However, EC can potentially remove pollutants such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), formaldehyde (FA), total nitrogen (TN), nitrogen nitrate (NO3–N), and other hydrocarbons. Hence, this study uses the EC technique to treat wastewater containing UF and MF with aluminium electrodes. The experiments were run in batch mode with a 250 mL working volume in a 500 mL Pyrex glass beaker using a variable DC power supply (0–30 V and 0–5 A). The impacts of various parameters, including reaction time (RT) 30–240 min, current density (CD) 8.66–51.94 mA/cm2, inter-electrode distance (IED) 1–2 cm, and mixing speed in the range of 60–120 rpm were examined to achieve the best pollutant removals. The best removal percentage was reached at the optimized conditions of 150 min RT, 43.28 mA/cm2 CD, 1.5 cm IED, and 80 rpm: 81.1% TOC, 61.5% COD, 76.7% TN, 28.3% NO3–N, and 55.2% FA. During the EC process, electrodes and energy consumption were estimated at around 2.367 (g/L) and 0.18 (kWh/L), respectively. A kinetic analysis was also carried out to determine the pollutant's removal trend. This study concluded that the pseudo-first-order kinetic model was the best fit for removing TOC and FA with regression coefficients of 0.96 and 0.83, respectively.

Electrochemical and microbial treatment of bromophenol blue dye in aqueous solution

Bromophenol blue (BB) is an important triphenylmethane derivative widely used in research and industry as a dye or colorant for silk, leather, and drugs. BB has a high proclivity for water contamination because of its high solubility and stability, causing damage to living organisms even in low quantities. This study assessed the feasibility of electrochemical and biological for the decolorization of BB using graphite-copper electrode and indigenous microorganisms, respectively. It was found that effectiveness of electrochemical treatment improves with higher electrolysis time, current density, and electrolyte concentration, drops with rising pH, and shows a nonlinear pattern with temperature. The microbial strains identified as Acinetobacter baumaniu, Serratia marcescens, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Bacillus megaterium, Rhizopus stolonifer, and Bacillus subtilis performed poorly, irrespective of the dye/mineral salt ratio. The electrochemical technique was much more effective for decolorizing bromophenol blue dye-contaminated water. The computational results showed clearly that bromine atoms are the most susceptible sites for attack by oxidizing species and, thus, the onset of BB-decolorization.

Selective electrochemical recoveries of Cu and Mn from end-of-life Li-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are a tremendous achievement in the current energy storage landscape. However, there is an increasing demand for their implementation due to a variety of applications, such as mobile devices and a growing market of electric vehicles. Hence, the recycling of end-of-life batteries is one of the ways to satisfy the need for manufacturing new ones; however, this is challenging due to the lack of sustainable and efficient methods on a large scale. Electrochemical methods are widely used in the production of metals and alloys, therefore constituting a promising way for the recovery of critical metals present in cathode materials in LIBs. In this work, cathode materials have been collected from used LIBs from different sources and leached altogether with sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The resulting solution was treated electrochemically by applying a constant potential of -0.5 V for 20 h, which promoted the selective separation of copper and manganese at the cathode and anode sides, respectively. Complete and selective recoveries of Cu and Mn were proved by ICP-OES methods, while the purity of the obtained products was assessed by XRD, XPS and SEM-EDS analysis. This investigation presents a great potential for the implementation of an electrochemical treatment to recover valuable metals in pure and ready to reuse form from spent LIBs, which can be easily scaled-up as an alternative to current non-green recovery processes.

Progress in the Preparation of Metal Oxide Electrodes for the Electrochemical Treatment of Organic Wastewater: A Short Review

The direct discharge of untreated organic wastewater poses significant threats to the environment and to human health. To address these threats, electrocatalytic oxidation technology has emerged as a key solution for organic wastewater treatment. Building on research conducted over the past three years, this review highlights the considerable advantages of electrocatalytic oxidation technology in the context of organic wastewater treatment, with a particular emphasis on the application of metal oxide electrodes. The review also provides a summary of the primary methods used in the preparation of such electrodes. Subsequently, the applications of both single-metal-oxide electrodes and metal oxide composite electrodes in organic wastewater treatment are summarized. Finally, we discuss the future development of metal oxide electrodes.

Passivation effects on corrosion and cavitation erosion resistance of UNS S32205 duplex alloy in 3.5% NaCl

ABSTRACT The electrochemical and electronic properties of UNS S32205 duplex alloy passive film were studied with EIS and Mott–Schottky techniques, respectively. The role of Fe and Cr oxides in the passive film formation was checked using XPS. The cavitation behaviour was evaluated using an optical microscope OM. The studies were carried out in a 3.5% NaCl solution saturated with CO2 on various types of passive films: the air-formed (AF), the long-term aged (LTA), and the passivated (P1 and P2). The results showed that the electrochemical passivation treatment at passive region 1 improved the corrosion and cavitation behaviour compared to AF, while the long-term aging process made it worse. Passivation at passive region 2 was harmful and recorded the worst results under corrosion and cavitation erosion conditions. Thus, exposing the equipment made of this alloy to the passivation treatment at special conditions makes it more resistant to corrosion and cavitation erosion.

Strong influence of the heating method on Ti/RuO2-TiO2 anode electrochemical and photoassisted electrochemical performance

The use of mixed metal oxide anodes in wastewater electrochemical treatment depends on the production of efficient, stable, and economically viable anodes. Thus, Ti/RuO2-TiO2 anodes were prepared by unconventional heating methods using a CO2 laser and microwave irradiation. The calcination method significantly modified the surface morphology, electronic structure, and electrocatalytic properties of the anodes. Compared with the conventionally-prepared anode, anodes made using laser and microwave display increase by approximately 2 and 3 times the voltammetric charge and decrease by 2.8 and 5.4 times the charge transfer resistance. Moreover, laser and microwave-prepared anodes presented a lifetime of 4.4 and 2.3 times longer than the furnace-prepared anode. High efficiency in generating hypochlorite is achieved in 1 h using a laser-prepared anode (372 mg L−1), which improves the degradation and mineralization of ciprofloxacin by electrolysis. After UVC-irradiation, the anode with the lowest energy consumption (7.14 kWh g–1TOC) was prepared by microwave radiation.

Combination of electrochemically activated persulfate process and electro-coagulation for the treatment of municipal landfill leachate with low biodegradability

To handle complex wastewater with limited biodegradability, hybrid treatment systems are necessary. The current study represents the combined effectiveness of sulfate-radical associated electro-chemical advanced oxidation process (SR-EAOP) and electro-coagulation (EC) for the treatment of stabilized landfill leachate. For SR-EAOP, Pt/Ti was employed as the anode and an iron plate as the cathode; while EC treatment was performed by switching the polarity. Hence, both electrochemical treatment was carried out in single reactor. Initially, the effects of pH, applied voltage, persulfate and Fe2+ dosage, on the performance of SR-EAOP was examined. Sulfate radical was generated in the electrolytic system via cathodic reduction of persulfate (PS) and ferrous (Fe2+) ion activation. Auxiliary processes such as anodic oxidation via Pt/Ti anode and indirect electro-chemical oxidation were also contributed for pollutant degradation. Combined process SR-EAOP followed by EC (SR-EAOP + EC) has better leachate treatment efficacy in comparison with EC + SR-EAOPs. The SR-EAOP + EC based combined treatment mechanism achieved an efficient COD reduction of 88.67% than that of EC + SR – EAOP process (74.51% COD reduction). Characterization studies have been carried out for post-treated dried-sludge using Field Emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) techniques. The combined process treatment (SR-EAOP + EC) can be applied as pre-treatment for leachate decontamination.

A review on the recent advances in electrochemical treatment technologies for sludge dewatering and alternative uses

Municipal wastewater treatment plants generate enormous quantities of sludge as a byproduct, which not only contains a significant amount of water and harmful pathogens but also serves as a repository for a variety of essential materials and nutrients. The recovery of water and other valuable substances is highly dependent on the employed treatment methods. In recent years, electrochemical processes have attracted a great deal of interest as an efficient technique for sludge dewatering and resource recovery. By separating free and bound water from the sludge matrix, electro-dewatering can substantially reduce the volume of sludge, making it a more cost effective and sustainable method of sludge management. Furthermore, the resulting sludge cake is more manageable and transportable, making it a viable option for further disposal or resource recovery. By considering the beneficial aspects of sludge electro-dewatering, this paper aims to critically review the mechanism underlying electrochemical methods of sludge dewatering as well as modified development strategies for scal-up potentials.

Research on the electrochemical treatment of nitrobenzene wastewater: The effects of process parameters and the mechanism of distinct degradation pathways

Nitrobenzene is a typical organic pollutant of petroleum pollutant, which is a synthetic chemical not found naturally in the environment. Nitrobenzene in environment can cause toxic liver disease and respiratory failure in humans. Electrochemical technology provides an effective and efficient method for degrading nitrobenzene. This study, the effects of process parameter (e.g., electrolyte solution type, electrolyte concentration, current density and pH) and distinct reaction pathways for electrochemical treatment of nitrobenzene were investigated. As a result, available chlorine dominates the electrochemical oxidation process compared with hydroxyl radical, thus the electrolyte of NaCl is more suitable for the degradation of nitrobenzene than that of Na2SO4. The concentration and the existence form of available chlorine were mainly controlled by electrolyte concentration, current density and pH, which directly affect the removal of nitrobenzene. Cyclic voltammetry and mass spectrometric analyses suggested that electrochemical degradation of nitrobenzene included two important ways. Firstly, single oxidation: nitrobenzene → other forms of aromatic compounds→ NO−x + organic acids + mineralization products. Secondly, coordination of reduction and oxidation: nitrobenzene → aniline→ N2 + NO−x + organic acid + mineralization products. The results of this study will encourage us to further understand the electrochemical degradation mechanism of nitrobenzene and develop the efficient processes for nitrobenzene treatment.

Hydrogen charging of carbon and low alloy steel by electrochemical methods

Atomic hydrogen can be the result of different processes like electroplating, chemical and electrochemical pickling treatments, in welding or by cathodic processes in corrosive fluids. Moreover, adsorption of atomic hydrogen can affect materials in contact with high pressure gaseous hydrogen. Once entered the material, atomic hydrogen interacts with the metal structure and may produce a “damage” of various forms, such as Hydrogen Induced Cracking (HIC), delayed fracture, blistering and hydrogen embrittlement. In particular, when H2S is present (“sour service”), metallic materials, such as carbon and low alloy steels, may suffer hydrogen damage and hydrogen embrittlement. Sour service materials must be used in compliance with international accepted standards, used worldwide in oil and gas activities, when fluids are classified as sour. The present study has been carried out in order to set up an electrochemical method to charge with hydrogen two typical pipeline materials, carbon and low alloy steels. The reason of the use of an electrochemical method is to avoid any critical conditions from the point of view of preparation, safety and disposal. Hydrogen content in the specimens was measured by two different methods: hot glycerol bath and Inert Gas Fusion (IGF) analysis. Hydrogen content in the specimens is about 0.6–2 ppm; mechanical performances were assessed by means of J integral tests: a pronounced decrease of fracture toughness was observed for H charged specimens.Graphical