Paired electrooxidative degradation of phenol with in situ electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite

The oxidants, hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite, were generated by the cathodic reduction of oxygen and anodic oxidation of chloride ion in a paired electrolysis process and used for phenol degradation. The degradation of phenol with electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide was slightly affected by pH and ferrous ion concentration. The oxidative degradation of phenol with paired electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite was significantly affected by phenol concentration. In comparison with the cathodic and anodic degradation of phenol, the removal of phenol increased by 56.1% and 178.1%, respectively, in the case of paired electrooxidative phenol degradation. The COD decreased from 3222 and 3222 ppm to 2253 and 2746 ppm in the anodic and cathodic compartments when the charge passed increased from 0 to 2500 C.