Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) target the chemical destruction of a wide range of non-biodegradable, toxic, and recalcitrant organic pollutants instead of removal via physical separation, which produces contaminant-laden concentrates or solids. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is the most widely used precursor that produces highly reactive and nonselective hydroxyl radical at the site of AOP through the activation by UV irradiation. The potential for AOPs to meet the growing demand of transforming centralized treatment and distribution practice into modular, small-scale, and decentralized treatment paradigm can be maximized by innovative technologies that can synthesize precursor chemicals also at the site of water treatment, eliminating the need for continuous chemical supply.
In this seminar, I will present an electrochemical H2O2 generation cell that produces a large quantity of H2O2 while consuming only 0.2 to 20% of the total electricity consumption of AOPs in various AOP application scenarios employing UV activation. A high electrochemical H2O2 production efficiency is achieved by synthesizing an anthraquinone-modified polyaniline composite that enables efficient two-electron oxygen reduction reaction. Polyaniline functions as a conductive support with abundant attachment sites, and anthraquinone ensures the selective H2O2 generation. H2O2 production capability of the device is further examined with simulated drinking water and wastewater as feed electrolytes to demonstrate its potential for real-world operation scenarios.
All seminars begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00).