2026-04-05T10:46:13Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2117/3561222026-01-16T10:01:08Zcom_2072_1033col_2072_452950

Paired electrochemical removal of nitrate and terbuthylazine pesticide from groundwater using mesh electrodes Oriol López, Roger Brillas Coso, Enrique Cabot, Pere-Lluis Cortina Pallás, José Luis Sirés Sadornil, Ignasi Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química Electrochemistry Boron-doped diamond anode Electrochemical oxidation Electrodenitrification Groundwater Iron cathode Electroquímica Groundwater is one of the main freshwater resources on Earth, but its contamination with NO3- and pesticides jeopardizes its viability as a source of drinking water. In this work, a detailed study of single electro-oxidation (EO) and electrodenitrification and paired EO/electrodenitrification processes has been undertaken with simulated and actual groundwater matrices containing 100 mg dm-3 NO3- and/or 5 mg dm-3 terbuthylazine pesticide. Galvanostatic electrolyses were made with 500 cm3 of solutions at pH 4.0-10.5 and 250-1000 mA in tank reactors with a RuO2 or boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and one or two Fe cathodes, all of them in the form of meshes. Most of NO3- removals agreed with a pseudo-first-order kinetics. In Cl--free media, NH4+ predominated as electroreduction product. In chloride media, a greater amount of N-volatiles was determined alongside a slower electrodenitrification, especially with RuO2 due to the partial re-oxidation of electroreduction products like NH4+ by active chlorine. The pesticide decays were also fitted to a pseudo-first order kinetics, and its presence led to a smaller release of N-volatiles. Overall, BDD always favored the pesticide degradation thanks to the action of BDD( OH), whereas RuO2 was preferred for electrodenitrification under some conditions. The EO/electrodenitrification of groundwater was successful once the matrix was softened to minimize its hardness. The NO3- concentration was reduced below the limit established by the WHO. Overall, the BDD/Fe cell was more suitable than the RuO2/Fe cell because it accelerated the pesticide removal with a simultaneous high degree of NO3- electroreduction. However, it produced toxic chlorate and perchlorate. A final post-treatment with an anion exchange resin ensured a significant removal of both ions, thus increasing the viability of the electrochemical approach to treat this type of water. Chromatographic analyses revealed the formation of ten heteroaromatic products like desethyl-terbuthylazine and cyanuric acid, alongside oxalic and oxamic as final short-chain carboxylic acids. Peer Reviewed Postprint (author's final draft) 2021-07-01 Article https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013468621006447 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ Open Access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain