Anodic oxidation of cationic dye on boron-doped diamond (BDD): effect of electrochemical operation parameters

Abstract

The aim of this work is to treat simulated wastewater containing a cationic dye by anode oxidation on a non-active electrode. For this purpose, the effect of six independent variables including initial methylene blue (MB) concentration, applied current density, initial pH, temperature, supporting electrolyte concentration and recirculation rate were determined. All experiments were monitored by UV-visible spectrophotometry. The electrode used as anode is boron-doped diamond (BDD). Based on this research, it appears that electrochemical parameters significantly influence the performance of the electrochemical process. In addition, a complete discolouration of the methylene blue solution is achieved under all experimental conditions. Furthermore, the degradation of the organic compound is controlled by mass transport and can be described by pseudo-first order kinetics. In sum, the anodic oxidation process using the BDD electrode represents a satisfactory method for the degradation of methylene blue in aqueous media.