Degradation of Aspirin in a Microbial Fuel Cell Powered Electro-Fenton System Using an Etched Graphite Felt Cathode

Pharmaceutical wastewater containing contaminants like aspirin, ofloxacin, and amoxicillin are emerging as a worldwide issue due to its significant effects on the ecosystem and public health. In this study, wastewater containing aspirin was treated by using Mn 3 O 4 etched graphite felt (EGF) as a c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inElectrocatalysis Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 143 - 158
Main Authors John, Juliana, Koshy, Rinu Anna, Krishnan, Haribabu, Asok, Aswathy
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Amoxicillin
Aspirin
Biochemical fuel cells
Catalysis
Cathodes
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Contaminants
Degradation
Electrochemical analysis
Electrochemistry
Electrodes
Electron transfer
Energy Systems
Graphite
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrophilicity
Maximum power density
Microorganisms
Pharmaceuticals
Physical Chemistry
Public health
Wastewater treatment
Microbial fuel cell
Electro-Fenton
Aspirin
Etched graphite Felt
Pharmaceuticals
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Summary:Pharmaceutical wastewater containing contaminants like aspirin, ofloxacin, and amoxicillin are emerging as a worldwide issue due to its significant effects on the ecosystem and public health. In this study, wastewater containing aspirin was treated by using Mn 3 O 4 etched graphite felt (EGF) as a cathode in an MFC-powered electro-Fenton system. The electrochemical characterization of etched electrodes revealed that etching at 400 °C for 1.5 h showed the highest electrochemical activity and rapid electron transfer with a peak current of − 0.058A. The physicochemical characterization exhibited a porous morphology with high defect concentration (I D /I G ratio of 1.56) and increased specific surface area and superhydrophilicity, proving its ability to regenerate Fe 2+ on the cathodic surface and promote H 2 O 2 generation. MFC exhibits a maximum power density of 0.053 W/m 2 and a current density of 0.516 A/ m 2 . Under optimized conditions of 0.7 mM iron concentration, pH 3, and 100 Ω resistance, the MFC-powered electro-Fenton system showed a maximum of 95.85% aspirin degradation in 30 h with a highest H 2 O 2 generation of 11.84 mg/l. The results highlight the potential of EGF electrodes as efficient cathodes in MFC-powered electro-Fenton systems and suggest that this technology can be opted as an energy-saving system for degrading pharmaceuticals such as aspirin from wastewater. Graphical abstract
ISSN:1868-2529
1868-5994
DOI:10.1007/s12678-023-00861-8