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Performance of electrochemical oxidation process for removal of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

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Abstract

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most detected and concentrated plasticizer in environment and wastewaters, worldwide. In this study, different operating parameters such as current intensity, treatment time, type of anodes, and supporting electrolytes were tested to optimized the electro-oxidation process (EOP) for the removal of DEHP in the presence of methanol as a dissolved organic matter. Among the anodes, the Nb/BDD showed the best degradation rate of DEHP, at low current intensity of 0.2 A after 90 min of treatment time with a percentage of degradation recorded of 81 %, compared to 70 % obtained with the Ti/IrO2-RuO2. Furthermore, due to the combination of direct and indirect oxidation, the removal of DEHP in the presence of 1 g/L Na2SO4 was higher than NaBr, even though the oxidant production of NaBr was 11.7 mmol/L against 3.5 mmol/L recorded in the presence of sulfate at 0.5 A and after 60 min of electrolysis time. Under optimal condition (current intensity = 0.5 A, time = 120 min, using Nb/BDD anode and Na2SO4 as supporting electrolyte), the removal of 87.2 % of DEHP was achieved. The total cost of 0.106 US$/m3 of treated water was achieved based on economical optimization of reactor with current intensity of 0.2 A and 1 g/L Na2SO4.

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Abbreviations

AOPs:

Advanced oxidation process

BDD:

Boron-doped diamond

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

DC:

Direct current

DCM:

Dichloromethane

DEHP:

Di 2-ethylhexyl phthalate

DOM:

Dissolved organic matter

EOP:

Electro-oxidation process

GC:

Gas chromatography

Log KOW :

Octanol-water partition coefficient

MeOH:

Methanol

MS:

Mass spectrometer

OH:

Hydroxyl radicals

PVC:

Polyvinyl chloride

TOC:

Total organic carbon

RNO:

P-nitrosodimethylaniline

WWTPs:

Wastewater treatment plants

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Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to the Ministry of International Relations of Québec (MRI-UBR-122366) and National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) for their financial support to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cd. Universitaria, 04510, México City, D.F., México

    Josué Daniel García Espinoza & Maria Teresa Orta Ledesma

  2. Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS-Eau, Terre et Environnement), Université du Québec, 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec, QC, G1K 9A9, Canada

    Patrick Drogui, Mehdi Zolfaghari & Ahmad Dirany

  3. Departamento de Biotecnología y Ciencias Alimentarias, Dirección de Recursos Naturales, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México

    Pablo Gortáres-Moroyoqui

  4. Industrial research center of Quebec, 333 rue Franquet, Québec, QC, G1P 4C7, Canada

    Gerardo Buelna

Authors
  1. Josué Daniel García Espinoza
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  2. Patrick Drogui
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  3. Mehdi Zolfaghari
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  4. Ahmad Dirany
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  5. Maria Teresa Orta Ledesma
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  6. Pablo Gortáres-Moroyoqui
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  7. Gerardo Buelna
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Correspondence to Patrick Drogui.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Espinoza, J.D.G., Drogui, P., Zolfaghari, M. et al. Performance of electrochemical oxidation process for removal of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 12164–12173 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6304-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6304-2

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