Electrochemical Degradation of Perchloroethylene in Aqueous Media: Influence of the Electrochemical Operational Variables in the Viability of the Process

An extensive study of the influence of the operational variables in the electrochemical degradation of perchloroethylene in water has been carried out using an electrochemical filter-press reactor. The influences of the initial concentration, volumetric flow, and electrode geometry and nature on the kinetics, degradation efficiency, and mechanism have been analyzed by determining the values of process performance parameters such as fractional conversion, degradation efficiency, mass balance error, and selectivity. The best results obtained were a fractional conversion higher than 85%, degradation efficiencies of 65%, selectivities close to 0.8, and energetic consumption around 3 kWh m(-3) obtained with two-dimensional electrodes. Three-dimensional carbon electrodes did not provide a more competitive option.