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Scale-up of electrolytic and photoelectrolytic processes for water reclaiming: a preliminary study

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Abstract

This work focuses on the scale-up of electrochemical and photoelectrochemical oxidation processes with diamond anodes for the removal of organic pollutants and disinfection of treated urban wastewater, two of the most important parameters for the reclaiming of wastewater. The removal of organics was studied with actual biologically treated urban wastewater intensified with 100 mg dm−3 of caffeine, added as a trace organic pollutant. The disinfection was also studied with biologically treated urban wastewater, and Escherichia coli was used to monitor the efficiency of the process. Results obtained with a single DiaCell® 101 were compared with those obtained with a single-stack DiaCell® 1001 and with a pilot plant made up of five of these stacks. Results obtained demonstrate that scale-up is not a simple but a very complex process, in which not only the electrode and the irradiation dose are important but also mass transfer conditions. Enhanced mass transport conditions have a determining and very positive effect on the removal of organics and a negative effect on the disinfection. Likewise, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation affects in a different way in the different setups used, having a great influence on the removal of complex organics and on the speciation of oxidants produced during disinfection. This works helps to understand the key differences observed in the scale-up, and it is a first approach for future works focused on the real application of conductive diamond electrochemical oxidation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge funding support from the EU and Spanish Government through the MINECO Project CTM2013-45612-R, FEDER 2007-2013 PP201010 (Planta Piloto de Estación de Estación de Regeneración de Aguas Depuradas) and INNOCAMPUS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering. Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technology, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Edificio E. Costa, Campus Universitario s/n 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    María J. Martín de Vidales, Salvador Cotillas, José F. Perez-Serrano, Javier Llanos, Cristina Sáez, Pablo Cañizares & Manuel A. Rodrigo

Authors
  1. María J. Martín de Vidales
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  2. Salvador Cotillas
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  3. José F. Perez-Serrano
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  4. Javier Llanos
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  5. Cristina Sáez
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  6. Pablo Cañizares
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  7. Manuel A. Rodrigo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manuel A. Rodrigo.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

Highlights

- Scale-up of conductive-diamond electrochemical oxidation is not an easy procedure.

- For scaling-up, mass transfer is at least as important as electrode material and UV irradiation dosage.

- UV irradiation coupled to electrolysis favors the oxidation of aromatic organics.

- Photoactivation of disinfectants improves the disinfection process at pilot plant.

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Martín de Vidales, M.J., Cotillas, S., Perez-Serrano, J.F. et al. Scale-up of electrolytic and photoelectrolytic processes for water reclaiming: a preliminary study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 19713–19722 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7189-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7189-9

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