Electrocoagulation-Coupled Catalytic Ozone Oxidation: A Viable Technology for Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment

The electrocoagulation-coupled catalytic ozone oxidation process is a promising technology for treating pharmaceutical wastewater (Zhao, Liu, & Zhang, 2020). Electrocoagulation can remove suspended solids from wastewater and synergistically catalyze ozone oxidation through its electric field and flocculation with metal oxide catalysts, significantly improving removal efficiency of hard-to-degrade organic compounds while reducing energy consumption and cost. Research has shown that electrocoagulation improves the efficiency of ozone degradation of IBP by increasing the transfer and consumption of ozone through the electric field and flocculation, increasing the ozone utilization rate from 17% in separate ozone oxidation to approximately 75% (Bao, Huang, & Du, 2019). This technology can also greatly alleviate the issue of insufficient use of ozone. Experimental results have demonstrated that electrocoagulation can increase the production of hydroxyl radicals under the same mass consumption of ozone, with more hydroxyl radicals being used in the degradation of IBP (Wang, Chen, & Li, 2019). Therefore, electrocoagulation coupled with catalytic ozone oxidation is a viable technology for the degradation of IBP in pharmaceutical wastewater.

References:

Bao, X., Huang, Z., & Du, C. (2019). Enhanced degradation of ibuprofen by coupling ozonation with electrocoagulation: Optimization and mechanism. Separation and Purification Technology, 211, 652-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2018.09.039

Wang, D., Chen, Z., & Li, H. (2019). Degradation of ibuprofen in water by catalytic ozonation coupled with electrocoagulation using a copper oxide catalyst. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 85, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2019.03.002

Zhao, Y., Liu, J., & Zhang, B. (2020). Performance and mechanism of electrocoagulation coupling with catalytic ozonation process for the degradation of ibuprofen. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(1), 797-806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06833-4