Efficiency enhanced electrochemical treatment of industrial wastewater by quasi-division

We present a novel method for treating real life industrial wastewaters containing different kind of organic contaminants, utilizing a quasi-divided cell setup that enhances total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) elimination efficiency. Three distinct wastewater streams were analyzed, containing various organic pollutants, including nitriles, amines, and dissolved cyanides. Degradation efficiencies of up to 99% for both TOC and COD were achieved using a newly slit spacer that facilitates quasi-division, effectively reducing the hindrance of reductive back reactions by minimizing the cathode surface area. The innovative design of two plate electrodes, combined with the newly developed spacer, simplifies the scaling process for industrial applications by addressing the challenges of integrating quasi-division into conventional electrochemical flow systems with wires as the smaller electrode. Also the undivided cell setup simplifies the periphery infrastructure of a technical plant to one cycle. Additionally, we explored the impact of sulfate on treatment efficiency, finding that peroxodisulfate species generated in situ at boron-doped diamond anodes significantly enhance our degradation rates. This study introduces a promising approach for TOC elimination and cyanide oxidation simultaneously, demonstrating strong potential for industrial application due to its simplicity in regard to engineering the electrochemical reactor and periphery infrastructure.