Electrogeneration of hydrogen peroxide using Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 anode in dual tubular membranes Electro-Fenton reactor for the degradation of tricyclazole without aeration

•Tubular membrane Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 performed better electrocatalytic activity.•Tubular membrane Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 provided abundant oxygen for H2O2 production.•Dual tubular membrane reactor had synergism and excellent removal of tricyclazole.

A novel dual tubular membrane electrodes reactor was fabricated to degrade a refractory heterocyclic compound-tricyclazole using a tubular membrane Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 as anode and a carbon black-polytetrafluoroethylene (CB-PTFE) modified graphite membrane as cathode. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) and accelerated lifetime tests revealed that a porous tubular membrane Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 performed better electrocatalytic activity and high stability under acidic conditions. Meanwhile, the effects of aeration on electrogeneration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were assessed and the role of anode in dynamic system was elucidated by comparing with the static system. The influence of the operative parameters such as current density (2.5–12.5 A/m2), membrane flux (52–178 L/m2·h) and pH (3–11) were optimized and monitored. It is demonstrated that tubular membrane Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5 anode provided enough oxygen to electrogenerate H2O2, up to 1586 mg/m2·h, at 10 A/m2 without aeration in acidic solution. Even if no circulation of the influent, the best removal rate of contaminants reached a stable value 79% at 20 min, which was 6.58-fold greater than the sum of the individual electrochemical oxidation. Synergism was observed during the dual tubular membrane E-Fenton system.

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