Electro-catalytic adsorption mechanism of acetonitrile in water using a ME-ACFs system

Acetonitrile wastewater is difficult to treat due to its high salinity and toxicity to microorganisms. In this paper, a micro electro-activated carbon fiber coupled system (ME-ACF) was established to treat simulated acetonitrile wastewater. In the 200 ml system, the concentration of acetonitrile adsorbed by ACF was 91.3 mg/L, while that of acetonitrile adsorbed by ME-ACF was 150.6 mg/L, and the removal efficiency was increased by 65 % in comparison. The activated carbon fibers before and after the reaction were subjected to a series of characterization, and it was found that the SABET decreased from 1393.48 m²/g to 1114.93 m²/g and 900.23 m²/g, respectively, but the oxygen on the surface of the activated carbon fibers was increased, and the effect of the micro electrolytic system on the activated carbon fibers was then analyzed. The possible reasons for the formation of acetic acid contained in the products were also discussed using DFT simulations. The removal mechanism of acetonitrile by ME-ACF was considered to be electrically enhanced adsorption and electro-catalytic hydrolysis.