Modeling of wastewater electro-oxidation processes part I.: General description and application to inactive electrodes

A new mathematical approach to the electrochemical treatment of wastewater polluted with organic materials is presented in this work. This model is based on several assumptions related to the reactor-level description, as well as to the mass-transfer and kinetics characteristics. The assumptions allow an easy-to-use model without adjustable parameters to be obtained. The model is applied to the electrochemical treatment of aqueous wastes containing carboxylic acids (formic, oxalic, and maleic) or phenol, using cells with non-active anodes (boron-doped diamond). Good agreement between the experimental and modeling results is obtained in all cases, which validates the assumptions on which the model is based.