Electrochemical oxidation route of methyl paraben on a boron-doped diamond anode

Parabens have been widely used in different industries and can be found in health and personal care products. They are esters of p-hydroxy-benzoic acid associated with breast tumors and classified as endocrine disruptors. This study describes the galvanostatic electrochemical oxidation of methyl paraben (MePa) on a boron-doped diamond anode using current densities in the 1.35 to 21.6 mA cm−2 range. The degradation process can be controlled by either charge transfer or mass transport, according to the experimental conditions and rate of mineralization of MePa increased by the current density. The concentration variation as a function of electrolysis time showed that the degradation kinetics follows a pseudo first-order law. A mechanism for the MePa degradation based on reactive intermediates determined by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is also proposed.