Author(s)

Yaneth Bustos-Terrones^1*, María Neftalí Rojas-Valencia², Alberto Álvarez-Gallegos³, Patricía García³

¹División de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación-Ingeniería Ambiental, Instituto Tecnológico de Culiacán, Culiacán, México.
²Coordinación de Ingeniería Ambiental, Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D. F., México.
³Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas (CIICAp), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, México.

Electrochemical techniques were used to oxidize organic pollutants by Fenton process using a mix of H₂O₂ and ferrous ions at a parallel plate reactor. The first stage was to build a micro scale reactor comprising two compartments, cathode and anode, separated by a membrane (Nafion-117). Each compartment has inlets and outlets to allow the flow of fluids (10 Lmin^-1). The function of the reactor is to oxidize organic pollutants as well as to produce H₂. Hydrogen is electrogenerated in the catholyte by the reduction of protons on a carbon steel cathode in acidic medium (0.05 M H₂SO₄). At the same time, a mixture of Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ions is produced in the anolyte (0.05 M Na₂SO₄, pH ≈ 2) by means of the oxidation of a sacrificial electrode made of stainless steel mesh. Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ ions interact with H₂O₂ to generate strong oxidants which are responsible for oxidizing the organic matter and removing color. A voltage of 1 V was applied between the electrodes and remained constant, while the current observed was approximately 0.06 A. Under these conditions, the activation rate with different H2O2 concentrations (15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 mM) was evaluated. The maximum activation rate (1.3 mM·min^-1) was obtained using 30 mM H₂O₂. Under these conditions, the oxidation of a synthetic industrial effluent (0.615 mM BB9) was performed and the following results were obtained: 95% of this concentration was removed in 5 minutes and 15 mL of H₂ was electrogenerated in 30 minutes.

BB9 Degradation, Fenton Process, Hydrogen Peroxide, Hydrogen Production

Bustos-Terrones, Y. , Rojas-Valencia, M. , Álvarez-Gallegos, A. and García, P. (2015) Removal of Basic Blue 9 Dye by Hydrogen Peroxide Activated by Electrogenerated Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ and Simultaneous Production of Hydrogen. Journal of Environmental Protection, 6, 781-791. doi: 10.4236/jep.2015.68071.