Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol.47, No.4, 547-561, 2017
Ternary dimensionally stable anodes composed of RuO2 and IrO2 with CeO2, SnO2, or Sb2O3 for efficient naphthalene and benzene electrochemical removal
With the growing demand for fuel and oil, the volume of water produced during the extraction process is increasing, and consequently, it becomes an environmental problem. In this paper, dimensionally stable anodes with compositions of Ti/(RuO2)(0.7)(IrO2)(0.1)(MO (x) )(0.2), in which M is Ce, Sn, or Sb, were synthesized by the method of thermal decomposition of chlorides using an ionic liquid as solvent, and then, these were used as electrocatalytic materials for elimination of organic pollutants in water. The results demonstrate that a change in the electrode composition is a significant parameter as well as the preparation conditions; in fact, the calcination temperature was a determining variable in the electrocatalytic properties of each one of the anodes to eliminate organic compounds. The calcination temperatures studied were 500, 550 and 600 A degrees C, in which the most efficient electrodes were those annealed at 500 A degrees C. This feature is closely related to the presence of a TiO2 layer that is formed in the electrode when the calcination temperature is increased. Among the 500 A degrees C-treated electrodes, the composition that stood out was the one containing antimony (Ti/(RuO2)(0.7)(IrO2)(0.1)(Sb2O3)(0.2)). These findings are confirmed by XRD analysis and cyclic voltammetry. SEM images showed an apparently compact morphology with discrete microcracks and several grains. High removal efficiencies of the developed anodes to depollute synthetic-produced water containing 30 ppm of naphthalene or benzene, were achieved. It was due to the production of hydroxyl radicals at anode surfaces and the active sites depending on their compositions. Gas chromatography analysis showed that the best degradation rates were achieved by the Ti/(RuO2)(0.7)(IrO2)(0.1)(Sb2O3)(0.2) electrode annealed at 500 A degrees C, equivalent to 93.4 and 99.8% of naphthalene and benzene removal, respectively.
Keywords:Produced water;Electrode material;Ionic liquid;Wastewater treatment;Electrochemical oxidation;Electrolysis