Electrochemical Treatment of Mixed and Hazardous Wastes: Oxidation of Ethylene Glycol and Benzene by Silver (II)

In the future, mediated electrochemical oxidation (MEO) may be used for the ambient temperature destruction of hazardous waste and for the conversion of mixed waste to low‐level radioactive waste. We have studied the MEO of ethylene glycol and benzene, two model compounds, in an electrochemical reactor. The reactor had a rotating‐cylinder anode that was operated well below the limiting current for Ag(II) generation. Rates of generation were measured and used to calculate both destruction and current efficiencies for the process. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify several reaction intermediates. A simple model was developed to predict the time dependence of evolution.