Electrochemical Oxidation for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59436/ijpsr.v2i2.19.3139-342XKeywords:
Electrochemical Oxidation, Advanced Oxidation Processes, Industrial Wastewater, Boron-Doped Diamond, Hydroxyl Radicals, Wastewater Treatment, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Sustainable Water ManagementAbstract
The field of industrial development has played an important role in economic growth but it has also resulted into massive volumes of waste liquids being released into nature. Effluents from industries dealing with textile, pharmaceuticals, tanneries, paper and pulp manufacturing, petrochemicals, food processing and electro-plating comprise complex mixtures of dyes, phenolic compounds, traces of drugs and pesticides, surfactants, heavy metals and a range of harmful organic contaminants. A number of them have high chemical stability, low biodegradability and toxicity, which activates problems of removal through standard wastewater treatment processes. Classical methods including coagulation-flocculation, adsorption, activated sludge treatment and membrane filtration do not provide a complete removal of persistent pollutants and may generate secondary waste requiring disposal. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) method is regarded as one of the most advanced methods of wastewater treatment because it involves generation of very powerful oxidizing agents in the process of electrolysis. During the process of electrolysis hydroxyl radicals (•OH), active chlorine species, hydrogen peroxide, ozone and sulfate radicals are generated which help in oxidization of difficult-to-treat organic material into CO₂, water and inorganic ions. In contrast to classical methods of wastewater treatment, EO requires only a small amount of chemicals, produces little sludge and can be run under standard ambient conditions and simple reactor design. Recent technological development in electrode materials in particular Boron Doped Diamonds (BDD), Mixed Metal Oxides (MMO), PbO₂, SnO₂, graphite and platinum have led to the increase of pollutants’ degradation quality and decrease of operation constraints. Moreover, the combination of electrochemical processes and methods of photocatalysis, membrane separation, biological treatment and renewable energy sources in one system provides high efficiency of operation. This review gives an evaluation of the basic principles, chemical reactions, electrode materials, operational parameters, industrial applications, recent achievements of technologies, advantages and perspective development of the method in question.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gaurav, Prof. (Dr.) Sandhya Chaudhary (Author)
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