Anodic oxidation of bisphenol A by different dimensionally stable electrodes

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a known endocrine disrupter and was detected in surface waters. This study investigated the mineralization of BPA by electrochemical oxidation using different anode materials including boron-doped diamond (BDD), platinum, and mixed metal oxide (MMO) electrodes (RuO2-IrO2, RuO2-TiO2, IrO2-Ta2O5, and Pt-IrO2). These electrodes were compared in terms of BPA mineralization efficiencies and electrical energy consumptions. Total organic carbon (TOC) was analyzed to monitor the mineralization efficiency of BPA. BDD achieved 100% BPA mineralization efficiency in 180 min and at a current density of 125 mA/sq cm, whereas the TOC removal efficiency of Pt was 60.9% and the efficiency of MMO electrodes ranged between 48% and 54%. BDD exhibited much lower specific energy consumption, which corresponds to a lower energy cost. The effect of operational parameters showed that the BDD anode was much more affected by the current density, initial BPA concentration, and electrolyte concentration than the other parameters such as the stirring speed and interelectrode distance.