In-situ production of iron flocculation and reactive oxygen species by electrochemically decomposing siderite: An innovative Fe-EC route to remove trivalent arsenic

The removal of trivalent arsenic (As (III)) from water has received extensive attention from researchers. Iron electrocoagulation (Fe-EC) is an efficient technology for arsenic removal. However, electrode passivation hinders the development and application of Fe-EC. In this work, an innovative Fe-EC route was developed to remove As (III) through an electrochemical-siderite packed column (ESC). Ferrous ions were produced from siderite near the anode, and hydroxide was generated near the cathode during the electrochemical decomposition of siderite. As a result, an effect of Fe-EC-like was obtained. The results showed that an excellent removal performance of As (III) (>99%) was obtained by adjusting the parameters (As (III) concentration at 10 mg/L, pH at 7, Na2SO4 at 10 mM and the hydraulic retention time at 30 min) and the oxidation rate of As (III) reached 84.12%. The mechanism analysis indicated that As (III) was oxidized to As (V) by the produced active oxide species and electrode, and then was removed by capturing on the iron oxide precipitates. As (III) was likely to be oxidized in two ways, one by the reactive oxygen species (possibly center dot OH, Fe(IV) and center dot O2- species), and another directly by the anode. The long-term effectiveness of arsenic removal demonstrated that ESC process based on the electrochemical-siderite packed column was an appropriate candidate for treating As (III) pollution.

Automated summary

Researchers have developed an innovative iron electrocoagulation route using an electrochemical-siderite packed column to remove trivalent arsenic from water. The process involves the electrochemical decomposition of siderite to produce ferrous ions and hydroxide, which oxidize As (III) to As (V) and are then removed by iron oxide precipitates. The results demonstrate the high efficiency of this method for arsenic removal under specific conditions, suggesting its potential application for treating As (III) pollution.