Removal of emerging pollutants from aquatic system using electrochemical treatment and adsorption: Comparison and analysis

The emerging pollutant such as metronidazole, chloramphenicol and sulphonamide were utilized for this research. Three-dimensional electrochemical reactor with particle electrodes such as Strychnos potatorum used to treat the above emerging pollutants. Voltage, pH, initial pollutant concentration and the particle electrode concentration were varied and the optimum conditions for the effective removal was found to be at 9 V, 15 grams of particle electrode and 100 mg/L of initial pollutant concentration. The efficiency of removal was found to be 93.68% for metronidazole, 94.56% for chloramphenicol and 94.11% for sulphonamide under optimum conditions. The air flow was varied to 2 L/min, 3 L/min and 5 L/min, the removal efficiency was found to be 80.24%, 94.12% and 95.26% for the above air flow rates. The comparison of adsorption, two-dimensional electrochemical treatment and three-dimensional electrochemical treatment was done and among them, three-dimensional electrochemical treatment was found to be 18.3% higher when compared to two-dimensional electrochemical treatment The removal efficiency for three-dimensional and two-dimensional treatment were found to be 53.74% and 45.83% in 60 min. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study utilized a three-dimensional electrochemical reactor to treat emerging pollutants, showing high removal efficiency for metronidazole, chloramphenicol, and sulphonamide under specific conditions. Additionally, the three-dimensional electrochemical treatment was found to be more effective than the two-dimensional treatment, indicating its potential advantage in pollutant removal.