Electrochemistry for the Environment (2010)

By: Christos Comninellis and Guohua Chen

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Synopsis: Wastewater treatment technology is undergoing a profound transformation due to the fundamental changes in regulations governing the discharge and disposal of h- ardous pollutants. Established design procedures and criteria, which have served the industry well for decades, can no longer meet the ever-increasing demand. Toxicity reduction requirements dictate in the development of new technologies for the treatment of these toxic pollutants in a safe and cost-effective manner. Fo- most among these technologies are electrochemical processes. While electrochemical technologies have been known and utilized for the tre- ment of wastewater containing heavy metal cations, the application of these p- cesses is only just a beginning to be developed for the oxidation of recalcitrant organic pollutants. In fact, only recently the electrochemical oxidation process has been rec- nized as an advanced oxidation process (AOP). This is due to the development of boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes on which the oxidation of organic pollutants is mediated via the formation of active hydroxyl radicals.