Enhancement of E-Peroxone process with waste-tire carbon composite cathode for tinidazole degradation

The cathode is the key component in the electro-peroxone process (E-Peroxone), which is popularly constructed with carbon materials. This study developed an innovative method to fabricate a cathode with waste-tire carbon (WTC) whose performance was evaluated for the degradation of tinidazole (TNZ), an antibiotic frequently detected in water. It was found that the addition of WTC in the cathode can significantly promote the yield of H₂O₂ and the current efficiency: around 2.7 times that of commercial carbon black at the same loading. The critical influencing factors were studied, including the current density, ozone concentration, initial pH value, chlorine ions and initial TNZ concentration. The scavenger tests demonstrated the possible involvement of •OH and O₂^•-. Some transformation products of TNZ were identified with UPLC-MS and the degradation pathway was proposed accordingly. These results demonstrated the potential of WTC for developing E-Peroxone cathodes.