Degradation of humic acid from water by advanced electrochemical oxidation method

In this study, the electrooxidation treatment method using boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes was investigated for the degradation of humic acid (HA) following absorbance at 254 nm (A₂₅₄), color (A₄₃₆) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Also, a surrogate SUVA₂₅₄ parameter was used to evaluate the aromatic carbon content. Prior to the application of the electrooxidation for HA degradation the electrochemical behavior of BDD electrode in HA containing 0.1M Na₂SO₄ supporting electrolyte was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and the working conditions of bulk electrolysis corresponding to water decomposition potential range were selected. The influence of the applied current density, pH, HA initial concentration on the performance of BDD electrode was investigated in relation with the specific electrical consumption. Applying electrooxidation using BDD electrodes for the real surface water treatment led to the mineralization efficiency of 65% after 150 minutes.