Electrochemical oxidation of p-aminophenol from water with boron-doped diamond anodes and assisted photocatalytically by TiO2-supported zeolite

In this work, the photocatalytically-assisted electrochemical oxidation for the degradation of 276 mg dm− 3 p-aminophenol (4-AP) from water with boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes using TiO2-supported zeolite (TiO2-Z) was investigated. The synergetic effect of this process on the treatment efficiency was assessed in comparison with the application of each single electrochemical oxidation and photocatalysis process. The process performance was evaluated in terms of 4-AP removal and mineralization efficiencies, electrochemical efficiencies, degradation and mineralization rates, mineralization current efficiency and energy consumption. After a reaction time of 120 min, about 23, 90, 56, and 88% of 4-AP was degraded in the photocatalysis, electrooxidation at the current density of 10 mA cm− 2, electrooxidation at the current density of 5 mA cm− 2 and photocatalytically-assisted electrooxidation at the current density of 5 mA cm− 2. Also, for the application of the combined process, an apparent kinetic synergetic effect was achieved for 4-AP mineralization. The technical and economic assessments suggested the superiority of combined process for 4-AP degradation from water.