Karine Groenen-Serrano

Electrochemical incineration of cresols: A comparative study between PbO2 and boron-doped diamond anodes

The electrooxidation of aqueous solutions containing 5mM of o-, m- and p-cresol at pH 4.0 has been investigated using a flow filter-press reactor with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) under galvanostatic electrolysis. All cresols are degraded at similar rate up to attaining overall mineralization. Comparable treatment of the m-cresol effluent on PbO(2) leads to partial electrochemical incineration. However, this pollutant is more rapidly removed with PbO(2) than with BDD. The decay kinetics of all cresols follows a pseudo-first-order reaction. Aromatic intermediates such as 2-methylhydroquinone and 2-methyl-p-benzoquinone and carboxylic acids such as maleic, fumaric, pyruvic, malonic, tartronic, glycolic, glyoxylic, acetic, oxalic and formic, have been identified and followed during the m-cresol treatment by chromatographic techniques. From these oxidation by-products, a plausible reaction sequence for m-cresol mineralization on both anodes is proposed. The energy consumption for the corresponding electrochemical process is also calculated.

Electrochemical sensors and devices for heavy metals assay in water: the French groups' contribution

A great challenge in the area of heavy metal trace detection is the development of electrochemical techniques and devices which are user-friendly, robust, selective, with low detection limits and allowing fast analyses. This review presents the major contribution of the French scientific academic community in the field of electrochemical sensors and electroanalytical methods within the last 20 years. From the well-known polarography to the up-to-date generation of functionalized interfaces, the different strategies dedicated to analytical performances improvement are exposed: stripping voltammetry, solid mercury-free electrode, ion selective sensor, carbon based materials, chemically modified electrodes, nano-structured surfaces. The paper particularly emphasizes their advantages and limits face to the last Water Frame Directive devoted to the Environmental Quality Standards for heavy metals. Recent trends on trace metal speciation as well as on automatic “on line” monitoring devices are also evoked.

Kinetic Study of the Electrochemical Mineralization of m-Cresol on a Boron-Doped Diamond Anode

The kinetics of the electrooxidation of m-cresol in aqueous solution was investigated in a one-compartment flow electrochemical cell with a boron-doped diamond electrode (BDD). Cyclic voltammograms recorded on BDD revealed that cresol oxidation takes place at a potential very close to the discharge of water. Under potentiostatic conditions, at a working potential lower than water discharge, a passive layer was rapidly formed on the electrode surface due to cresol polymerization. The anode fouling was not observed during electrolysis performed with the flow electrochemical cell operating under galvanostatic conditions. In this case, the decay of mcresol concentration followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The abatement of chemical oxygen demand (COD) showed that the kinetics of m-cresol oxidation was limited by mass transfer and that a full mineralization was achieved. A good agreement between predicted and experimental COD and instantaneous current efficiency values was obtained, although some deviations were observed at high current since the experimental data decreased faster than those predicted ones. These deviations can be explained by the occurrence of oxygen evolution which increases the mass transfer coefficient.

Nanofiltration performances after membrane bioreactor for hospital wastewater treatment: Fouling mechanisms and the quantitative link between stable fluxes and the water matrix

Treatment combining membrane bioreactors (MBR) and nanofiltration (NF) is becoming an emerging wastewater treatment strategy. The combined process is capable of producing high quality water potentially reusable; however, diverse compositions of MBR effluents induce several types and degrees of NF membrane fouling that impacts process productivity. Moreover, since MBR effluent composition for one type of wastewater source is variable depending on the MBR efficiency at different periods, downstream NF membrane fouling types and degrees may consequently change over time. In that context, the present paper aims at developing effective fouling control strategies of NF membrane in the case of the filtration of MBR effluents taken from a MBR system installed in a French hospital. These effluents were filtrated under various transmembrane pressures, and stable fluxes during these filtrations were determined. Several types and degrees of fouling mechanisms were then identified through surface morphology observation and the analysis of chemical compositions of fouled membranes. The diverse flux behaviour was further associated with the fouling mechanisms and foulant compositions. Based on the study of these mechanisms, the quantitative link between stable fluxes and calcium phosphate concentrations in MBR effluents has been established.