Electrochemical regeneration of granular activated carbon saturated with organic compounds

Electrochemical regeneration of granular activated carbon (GAC) saturated with organic compounds was investigated using SnO2/Ti anodes. Experiments were carried out under a semi-batch electrochemical reactor covering wide range in operating conditions. A kinetic model has been developed to describe the electrochemical regeneration and the performance indicators such as instantaneous current efficiency and regeneration efficiency were estimated. The proposed model has been effectively demonstrated for the regeneration of GAC saturated with organics present in the 4,4′-diamino stilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid manufacturing wastewater. It has been observed from the present experiments that the applied current density has significant influence on adsorption capacity of regenerated GAC. A good agreement of the model predictions with the experimental observations shows that the proposed kinetic model can be used as a better design method for electrochemical regeneration of spent GAC.