The Removal of Low Levels of Organics from Aqueous Solutions Using Fe(II) and Hydrogen Peroxide Formed In Situ at Gas Diffusion Electrodes

The removal of several organics (phenol, aniline, acetic acid, formaldehyde, and three azo dyes) from aqueous solutions (pH 2) containing Fe(II) and using hydrogen peroxide produced by the reduction of oxygen at a gas‐diffusion electrode is demonstrated. It is shown that chemical oxygen demand of solutions containing such organics may be reduced by >90% with a current efficiency >50%, leading to acceptable energy consumptions. The approach also clearly has considerable generality. The voltammetry of the gas diffusion electrodes, fabricated by screen printing an XC72‐R carbon powder/polytetrafluorene active layer on a carbon fiber paper support is also reported and discussed. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.