• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4441-4448
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• 2022

The electrochemical oxidation process has been widely studied in the field of wastewater treatment for the decomposition of organic materials through oxidation using ·OH generated on the anode. Pt anode electrodes with high durability and long-term operability have a low oxygen evolution potential, making them unsuitable for electrochemical oxidation processes. Therefore, to apply Pt electrodes that are suitable for long-term operation and large-scale processes, it is necessary to develop a new method for improving the decomposition rate of organic materials. This study introduces a method to improve the decomposition rate of organic materials when using a Pt anode electrode in the electrochemical oxidation process for the treatment of organic decontamination liquid waste. Electrochemical decomposition tests were performed using sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a representative organic material and a Pt mesh as the anode electrode. Y₂O₃ particles were introduced into the electrolytic cell to improve the decomposition rate. The decomposition rate significantly improved from 21% to 99%, and the current efficiency also improved. These results can be applied to the electrochemical oxidation process without additional system modification to enhance the decomposition rate and current efficiency.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.45-53
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• 2003

Discharging untreated bilge to the ocean is a cause of marine pollution. In general, bilge water contains free and/or emulsified forms of oil. Free form of oil can easily be separated by gravimetric flotation and/or proper filtration processes. However, those simple physicochemical processes could not separate emulsified oil without adding proper chemicals. Electrolytic flotation is one of promising technologies able to fulfill the effluent standard requirement, which is below 15 ppm of oil content. In this research, Electrochemical process consisting of electrochemical flotation basin was studied for the treatment of emulsified oil. In order to estimate, the effectiveness of oil separation equipment influent concentration of oil and HRT(Hydraulic retention time) were considered. Also, lab-scale electrochemical process was designed and operated in the condition of various HRT, current density, and electrode gap. Through the research, following results were obtained. From the experiment of bench scale electrochemical treatment process, it was demonstrated that the emulsified oil was treated effectively and the removal efficiency of emulsified oil from wastewater was increased with HRT and current density.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.52-60
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• 2007

Denitrification from aqueous solution was investigated through patent analysis and electrochemical denitrification experiment. Among several candidates, biological treatment and oxidation/reduction method are mainly discussed. Recently, patent pending concerning to electrochemical treatment is increasing. Based on basic electrochemical study, total nitrogen was removed up 47% by 1-hour galvanostatic electrolysis with Fe cathode and Pt anode. More applicable technique to industry could be mentioned combination of two or more technologies suitable to waste water characteristics. In the case of small and concentrate effluent, combination of chemical and electrochemical treatment would be recommendable because nitrate could be easily converted to nitrite by chemical treatment, and in that case denitrification by electrolysis becomes more efficient and metal ions from chemical treatment can be recovered during electrolysis.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.417-423
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• 2019

A new wastewater treatment system was developed to remove nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus in synthetic wastewater through electrochemical treatment. Higher removal efficiencies of nitrate nitrogen were obtained as the current density increased. Higher nitrate removal efficiencies were obtained when the switching interval was 1 min. The total phosphorus removal rate according to the current density was found to be over 90% without being greatly affected by the change in current density and interval, and the total removal rate increased with increasing switching time (1 min interval). On the other hand, COD was not treated by electrochemical treatment, but rather increased as the electrode eluted. Also, the consumption rate of the electrode was smaller as the switching interval was shorter. Finally, removal efficiencies of 98.1% of nitrate and 90% of phosphorus were obtained through electrochemical treatment (current density $50mA/cm^2$, switching interval 1 min, flow rate 540 mL/min).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.261-268
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• 2022

In this study, electrochemical treatment of urban wastewater with electrical conductivity of 1000 μS cm^-1 and chemical oxygen demand of 250 mg L^-1 was investigated using the variables of initial pH value, current density and flow rate. Electrocoagulation was used, in which aluminum and stainless steel were selected, as the electrochemical treatment process. The electrocoagulation process was operated in continuous mode. The data obtained in experimental studies show that the best COD removal efficiency occurred in experiments where the initial pH value was 6. The increase in current density from 5 A to 15 A decreased the removal efficiency from 79 to 67%. The increase in flow rate under constant current density also reduced the efficiency of removal as expected. In experiments in which current density and flow rate were examined together, the increase in flow rate allowed the application of higher current densities. This situation led to considerable reductions in energy consumption values, even if the COD removal efficiency did not significantly increase. The high COD removal obtained with the use of high flow rate and high current density indicates that the electrocoagulation process can be used for high flow rate municipal wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.345-356
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• 2020

The removal of organic carbon and nutrients (i.e. N and P) from wastewater is essential for the protection of the water environment. Especially, nitrogen compounds cause eutrophication in the water environment, resulting in bad water quality. Conventional nitrogen removal systems require high aeration costs and additional organic carbon. Microbial electrochemical system (MES) is a sustainable environmental system that treats wastewater and produces energy or valuable chemicals by using microbial electrochemical reaction. Innovative and cost-effective nitrogen removal is feasible by using MESs and increasing attention has been given to the MES development. In this review, recent trends of MESs for nitrogen removal and their mechanism were conclusively reviewed and future research outlooks were also introduced.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.101-105
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• 2018

With the rapidly growing of the population and industrization of cities, the clean and affordable water resources have gained immense interest because of remaining about 780 million people still lack access to it. However, present wastewater treatment systems have been faced with various issues, such as low processing efficiency, high operational costs and the requirement of a large area for manufacturing. It is therefore urgently required to develop an inexpensive and efficient wastewater treatment system. As the one of these efforts, we suggested and successfully demonstrated the wastewater treatment system using and electrochemical method via a dimensionally stable anode (DSA) based on rutile type $RuO_2$. Our system achieved biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiently at the respective rates of 52.0%, 77.8%, and 65.6% from household wastewater. In addition, we were able to remove BOD, COD, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) from animal husbandry wastewater at rates of 92.9%, 75.6%, 35.1%, and 100%, respectively, thereby achieving dramatic reductions. Considering the excellent removal efficiency and the small size of this device, electrochemical wastewater treatment using a DSA coated in rutile $RuO_2$ presents a promising option for the treatment of both household and animal husbandry wastewater.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.372-377
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• 2016

The carbon felt used as the electrode of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) requires imprived electrochemical activity for better battery performance and efficiencies. Many efforts have been tried to improve electrochemical activity of the carbon felt as electrodes. In this study the alkali solution, KOH, is applied on surface treatment of the carbon felt electrode. The carbon felts were treated with KOH under room temperature and $80^{\circ}C$. The isopropyl alcohol was applied to improve wettability of the carbon felt during KOH treatment. The KOH treated carbon felt was analyzed by using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS analysis of carbon felt electrode revealed on increase in the overall surface oxygen content of the carbon felts after KOH treatment. Also, cyclic voltametry tests showed electrochemical characteristics enhancement of the carbon felt.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1221-1228
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• 2005

Carbon electrode was applied to a wastewater treatment system as biofilm media. The spatial distribution of heterotrophic bacteria in aerobic wastewater biofilm grown on carbon electrode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and biomass measurement. Five volts of electric oxidation and reduction potential were charged to the carbon anode and cathode of the bioelectrochemical system, respectively, but were not charged to electrodes of a conventional system. To correlate the biofilm architecture of bacterial populations with their activity, the bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons was measured in the bioelectrochemical system and compared with that in the conventional system. In the SEM image, the biofilm on the anodic medium of the bioelectrochemical system looked intact and active; however, that on the carbon medium of the conventional system appeared to be shrinking or damaging. In the AFM image, the thickness of biofilm formed on the carbon medium was about two times of those on the anodic medium. The bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons in the bioelectrochemical system was about 1.5 times higher than that in the conventional system. Some denitrifying bacteria can metabolically oxidize $H_{2}$, coupled to reduction of $NO_{3}^{-}\;to\;N_{2}$. $H_{2}$ was produced from the cathode in the bioelectrochemical system by electrolysis of water but was not so in the conventional system. The denitrification efficiency was less than $22\%$ in the conventional system and more than $77\%$ in the bioelectrochemical system. From these results, we found that the electrochemical coupling reactions between aerobic and anaerobic reactors may be a useful tool for improvement of wastewater treatment and denitrification efficiency, without special manipulations such as bacterial growth condition control, C/N ratio (the ratio of carbon to nitrogen) control, MLSS returning, or biofilm refreshing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.172-172
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• 2016

The International Maritime Organization(IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004 to prevent the transfer of aquatic organisms via ballast water. Forty ballast water treatment systems were granted final approval. A variety of techniques have been developed for ballast water treatment including UV treatment, indirect or direct electrolysis, ozone treatment, chemical compounds and plasma-arc method. In particular, using plasma and ozone nano-bubble treatments have been attracted in the fields. However, these treatment systems have a problem such as remained toxic substance, demand for high power source, low efficiency, ets. In this paper, we present our strilization results obtained from membrane type electrolytic-reduction treatment system The core of an electrolysis unit is an electrochemical cell, which is filled with pure water and has two electrodes connected with an external power supply. At a certain voltage, which is called critical voltage, between both electrodes, the electrodes start to produce hydrogen gas at the negatively biased electrode and oxygen gas at the positively biased electrode. The amount of gases produced per unit time is directly related to the current that passes through the electrochemical cell. From the results, we could confirm the sterilization effect of bacteria such as S. aureus, E. Coli and demonstrate the mechanism of sterilization phenomena by electrolytic-reduction treatment system.