Development of a Novel Internal Electrolysis System by Iron Connected with Carbon: Treatment of Nitroaromatic Compounds and Case of Engineering Application
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 9
Abstract
The mixture of scrap iron and particle carbon, termed internal electrolysis, has been used in the pretreatment of industrial wastewater to improve the biodegradability. However, the clogging of fillings reduces treatment efficiency, and filling replacement is inconvenient in engineering application. This study developed a novel internal electrolysis system, in which iron and carbon were separately placed and connected with a wire. Results showed that the removal of paranitrophenol by iron was significantly enhanced by the connection of carbon. The removal by iron connected with carbon was approximately equivalent to that by iron contacted with carbon. The removal of nitrobenzene and the production of aniline proved the reduction in nitro to amino group. The sites for contaminant removal were found to be on iron surface rather than on carbon surface. The connection of carbon to iron facilitated the corrosion of iron and led to the formation of more Fe oxyhydroxide and the release of more electrons from iron, both of which attributed to contaminant removal. The engineering application using the novel internal electrolysis demonstrated an average chemical oxygen demand removal of 60% and a significant increase in wastewater biodegradability. This novel internal electrolysis system was preliminarily proved feasible and convenient.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the International Foundation for Science (Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDW/4500-1) and partly supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. NSFC40801114) and the Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials Science of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission and Ministry of Education, South-Central University for Nationalities, Hubei Province (Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDCHCL09004). The valuable suggestions from the anonymous reviewers are highly appreciated.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 9 • September 2010
Pages: 975 - 982
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 6, 2009
Accepted: Jan 24, 2010
Published online: Jan 28, 2010
Published in print: Sep 2010
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