[Preparation of particle-electrodes for treating phenol wastewater using three-dimensional electrolysis]

In order to effectively degrade phenol, various catalysts with different active metals, i.e. Cu, Zn, Ni, Ce, Fe, Co, Mn and Sn supported over gamma-Al2O3 used as three-dimensional electrodes were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation. It is shown that, all particle-electrodes of single oxide and composite oxides could improve the degradation of phenol in varying degrees, and the single oxide and complex oxides of Mn and Sn could greatly improve electrochemical oxidation efficiency. When Mn and Sn ratio is 2 (molar fraction), the electrocatalytic activity is highest. Under current of 0.25 A, the conversion rate and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency for model pollutant after 150 min treatment reach 90.8% and 80.7%, respectively. Electrocatalytic oxidation is further carried out in the presence of the *OH radical scavenger tert-butyl alcohol, which indicates that both direct and indirect oxidation are responsible for the degradation of phenol.