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Free chlorine formation during electrochemical regeneration of a graphite intercalation compound adsorbent used for wastewater treatment

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Abstract

An innovative process aiming at the removal and oxidation of refractory and toxic organic contaminants from wastewater has been developed at the University of Manchester. The process is based on the adsorption of organics onto a graphite intercalation compound (GIC) adsorbent followed by its electrochemical regeneration. This paper investigates the formation of free chlorine species during the electrochemical regeneration of GIC adsorbent in a sequential batch reactor under a range of experimental conditions including the initial concentration of chloride ions, current density and pH. The effect of chloride ions concentration showed that the generation of free chlorine was occurring under the influence of mass transfer. It has been shown that the effect of increasing the current density on the rate of formation of free chlorine was larger than that achieved by increasing the chloride contents of catholyte. However, the current efficiency was not found to be improved with an increase of current density. The concentration of free chlorine formed during electrochemical oxidation of water with sodium sulphate as catholyte was significantly lower than that obtained during electrochemical regeneration in the presence of the GIC adsorbent that highlighted the significance of GIC particles in enhancing the rate of formation of free chlorine. These findings regarding the formation of free chlorine during electrochemical regeneration of GIC adsorbent has important implications for optimising the conditions to minimise the formation of chlorinated breakdown products and for electrochemical disinfection.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial and material support provided by Arvia Technology Ltd. In addition, we are thankful to the University of Manchester and Punjab University, Lahore for their support for the research.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the manuscript entitled ‘Free chlorine formation during electrochemical regeneration of a graphite intercalation compound adsorbent used for wastewater treatment’ submitted to the Journal of Applied Electrochemistry for consideration for publication have no conflict of interest. In addition, the submitted article fully complies with the ethical standards of the Journal of Applied Electrochemistry.

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Author notes

  1. E. P. L. Roberts

    Present address: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

  2. S. N. Hussain, H. M. A. Asghar & H. Sattar

    Present address: Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    S. N. Hussain, H. M. A. Asghar & E. P. L. Roberts

  2. Arvia Technology Ltd, The Innovation Centre, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, Cheshire, WA4 4FS, UK

    N. W. Brown

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  1. S. N. Hussain
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  2. H. M. A. Asghar
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  3. H. Sattar
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  4. N. W. Brown
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  5. E. P. L. Roberts
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Correspondence to S. N. Hussain.

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Hussain, S.N., Asghar, H.M.A., Sattar, H. et al. Free chlorine formation during electrochemical regeneration of a graphite intercalation compound adsorbent used for wastewater treatment. J Appl Electrochem 45, 611–621 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-015-0814-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-015-0814-3

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