Electrodegradation of selected water contaminants : efficacy and transformation products

Malinović, Borislav N. (author), Botić, Tatjana (author), Đuričić, Tijana (author), Borković, Aleksandra (author), Čubej, Katarina (author), Mitevski, Ivan (author), Račić, Jasmin (author), Prosen, Helena (author)

The electrooxidation (EO) of three important environmental contaminants, anticorrosive 1H-benzotriazole (BTA), plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (tert-octylphenoxy[poly(ethoxy)] ethanol, t-OPPE), was studied as a possible means to improve their elimination from wastewaters, which are an important emission source. EO was performed in a batch reactor with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and a stainless steel cathode. Different supporting electrolytes were tested: NaCl, H2SO4, and Na2SO4. Results were analysed from the point of their efficacy in terms of degradation rate, kinetics, energy consumption, and transformation products. The highest degradation rate, shortest half-life, and lowest energy consumption was observed in the electrolyte H2SO4, followed by Na2SO4 with only slightly less favourable characteristics. In both cases, degradation was probably due to the formation of persulphate or sulphate radicals. Transformation products (TPs) were studied mainly in the sulphate media and several oxidation products were identified with all three contaminants, while some evidence of progressive degradation, e.g., ring-opening products, was observed only with t-OPPE. The possible reasons for the lack of further degradation in BTA and DBP are too short of an EO treatment time and perhaps a lack of detection due to unsuitable analytical methods for more polar TPs. Results demonstrate that BDD-based EO is a robust method for the efficient removal of structurally diverse organic contaminants, making it a promising candidate for advanced water treatment technologies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: 1H-benzotriazole, dibutyl phthalate, Triton X-100, electrooxidation, boron-doped diamond electrode, degradation rate, kinetics, energy consumption, transformation products, LC-MS/MS
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FKKT - Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.08.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 23 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, iss. 15, art. 8434
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-171108
• UDC: 628.349:66.087.3:543.544.5
• ISSN on article: 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app15158434
• COBISS.SI-ID: 244417795
• Publication date in RUL: 05.08.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Applied sciences
• Shortened title: Appl. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522979353

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: 1H-benzotriazol, dibutil ftalat, Triton X-100, elektrooksidacija, z borom dopirana diamantna elektroda, hitrost razgradnje, kinetika, poraba energije, transformacijski produkti, LC-MS/MS