US EPA

1322063 

Journal Article 

Electrogeneration of disinfection byproducts at a boron-doped diamond anode with resorcinol as a model substance 

Li, H; Ni, J 

2012 

Yes 

Electrochimica Acta
ISSN: 0013-4686 

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD 

OXFORD 

69 

268-274 

English 

10.1016/j.electacta.2012.02.098 

WOS:000304024400036 

Electrochemical disinfection in chloride electrolyte with a
boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode has unique advantages due to the high oxidizing ability of
active chlorine and reactive oxygen species produced under certain conditions in the
electrolysis. However, the electrogeneration of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in the presence of
organics in the system has rarely been reported. In this study, the discontinuous formation of
DBPs (chloroform, chlorate and perchlorate) was investigated in model water containing chloride
electrolyte (10 mM) with a BDD anode in the presence of resorcinol (0.5 mM) at a current density
of 20 mA cm(-2). We found that the formation of chloroform and chlorate increased with the free
available chlorine production at the beginning and reached peaks at 2 h (0.01 mM), 4 h (1.67 mM),
respectively. When the free available chlorine started to decrease, chloroform was gradually
mineralized and chlorate was oxidized to perchlorate due to the strong and non-selective
oxidizing ability of the BDD. After electrolysis for 25h. only perchlorate was left (3.84 mM). So
inorganic DBPs should be carefully watched in the BDD system. The chloride concentration in the
electrolyte affected the production of all three DBPs, due to its influence on the active
chlorine production. Organic was not involved in the chlorate and perchlorate formation, and thus
the resorcinol concentration had little impact on inorganic DBPs. DBPs formation at acidic pH was
lower than that in the basic condition, mainly due to the different forms of resorcinol and
chlorine existing at different pH values. Compared with other endocrine disruptors (dimethyl
phthalate, diethyl phthalate and bisphenol-A), resorcinol with high active structure showed the
greatest reactivity in DBPs production. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 

Electrochemical disinfection; Boron-doped diamond electrode; Resorcinol; Disinfection byproducts