Application of gas diffusion electrode supported on carbon cloth for the co-generation of oxidizing radicals in an electrochemical reactor for degradation of antibiotic

• Grant number: 22/15491-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 20, 2023
• End date: June 17, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Roberto de Vasconcelos Lanza
• Grantee: Beatriz Tavoloni Marin
• Supervisor: Manuel Andrés Rodrigo Rodrigo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real (UCLM), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/06129-1 - Applying gas diffusion electrodes supported on carbon tissue for the treatment of antibiotic contaminated wastewater, BP.IC

Abstract

The contamination of water and sewage by endocrine interfering agents, such as antibiotics, has become a serious environmental problem. This is because, besides causing several problems to humans and animal biota, it can lead to increased microbial resistance in aquatic environments and, consequently, less efficiency of conventional treatments. Therefore, electrochemical technology stands out for the degradation of organic compounds in water, as it allows the in situ electrosynthesis of oxidizing agents, such as percarbonate (C2O62-) and the hydroxyl radical (*OH). Furthermore, such technology is also environment friendly and a feasible alternative to conventional water treatment methods. The electrogeneration of percarbonate can be accomplished by anodic oxidation (AO) using a boron-doped diamond (BDD) as anode, and of the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, common precursors of hydroxyl radical) by oxygen reduction reaction, using the gas diffusion electrode (GDE) as cathode. At present, several studies in the literature point to the use of electrochemical reactor for the electrogeneration of these compounds separately. In this way, in order to optimize the degradation process of antibiotics, such as Sulfamethoxazole (SFX), the present work aims to investigate and evaluate the simultaneous electrogeneration of percarbonate, at the anode, and the hydrogen peroxide at the cathode. Monitoring of the oxidizing agents will be performed using ion chromatography (IC) and UV/Vis spectrophotometer. The degradation will be evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and total organic carbon (TOC). (AU)