Carbon-based gas diffusion electrodes for In-situ H2O2 electrogeneration coupled with electrodialysis to treat micropollutants and recover value-added acids.

• Grant number: 25/13746-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Mauro Coelho dos Santos
• Grantee: Juliana Mendonça Silva de Jesus
• Supervisor: Manuel Andres Rodrigo Rodrigo
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real (UCLM), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/11134-2 - Development, evaluation, application and theoretical study of materials for the electrochemical degradation of emerging pollutants, BP.PD

Abstract

Due to their persistence and biological activity, pharmaceutical contaminants in water bodies present a growing threat to ecosystems and human health. Conventional treatment processes often fail to degrade these compounds fully, and there remains a significant gap in technologies that can simultaneously remove emerging pollutants and recover value-added products. This study proposes a novel electrorefinery system to efficiently degrade pharmaceutical contaminants while recovering carboxylic acids from synthetic pharmaceutical wastewater. A central composite design is employed to optimize operating parameters-including current density, pH, and electrolysis time-and to identify the most influential factors for contaminant removal, carboxylate recovery, and energy consumption.The results are expected to demonstrate substantial removal of target antibiotics and organic compounds, achieving greater than 50% TOC removal and over 50% antibiotic removal under optimal conditions. Concurrently, the process is projected to recover carboxylates with efficiencies exceeding 70% and specific energy consumption lower than conventional advanced treatment processes. Toxicity evaluations using Allium cepa bioassays will verify substantial reductions in residual cytotoxicity after treatment.By systematically examining technical and sustainability metrics, this study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of electrorefinery as a circular and scalable solution for treating pharmaceutical effluents, bridging critical knowledge gaps and paving the way for future implementation in wastewater treatment plants. (AU)