journal article·2025-07-29Open access

Electrodegradation of Selected Water Contaminants: Efficacy and Transformation Products

Borislav N. Malinović, Tatjana Botić, Tijana Đuričić, Aleksandra Borković, Katarina Čubej, Ivan Mitevski, Jasmin Račić, Helena Prosen

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 15

Abstract

The electrooxidation (EO) of three important environmental contaminants, anticorrosive 1H-benzotriazole (BTA), plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (tert-octylphenoxy[poly(ethoxy)] ethanol, t-OPPE), was studied as a possible means to improve their elimination from wastewaters, which are an important emission source. EO was performed in a batch reactor with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode and a stainless steel cathode. Different supporting electrolytes were tested: NaCl, H2SO4, and Na2SO4. Results were analysed from the point of their efficacy in terms of degradation rate, kinetics, energy consumption, and transformation products. The highest degradation rate, shortest half-life, and lowest energy consumption was observed in the electrolyte H2SO4, followed by Na2SO4 with only slightly less favourable characteristics. In both cases, degradation was probably due to the formation of persulphate or sulphate radicals. Transformation products (TPs) were studied mainly in the sulphate media and several oxidation products were identified with all three contaminants, while some evidence of progressive degradation, e.g., ring-opening products, was observed only with t-OPPE. The possible reasons for the lack of further degradation in BTA and DBP are too short of an EO treatment time and perhaps a lack of detection due to unsuitable analytical methods for more polar TPs. Results demonstrate that BDD-based EO is a robust method for the efficient removal of structurally diverse organic contaminants, making it a promising candidate for advanced water treatment technologies.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced oxidation water treatment · Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques · Environmental remediation with nanomaterials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Faculty of Technology, University of Banja Luka, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Funding

Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina · Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education, Government of the Republic of Srpska · Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency · Centre for Research Infrastructure at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology

References (56)

Show source-provided references
1. Review of Toxicity and Global Distribution of Phthalate Acid Esters in Fish10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175966 ↗
2. Phthalates Removal from Wastewater by Different Methods—A Review10.2166/wst.2022.133 ↗
3. Fenton-like Degradation of Di-n-Butyl Phthalate in Landfill Leachate by Endogenous Catalysts or Iron, Copper and Manganese Loaded Bottom Sediments
4. Theoretical Investigation on the Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate Initiated by OH and SO4− in Aqueous Solution: Mechanism, Kinetics and Ecotoxicity Assessment10.1016/j.cej.2019.122791 ↗
5. Treatment Performance and Microbial Response to Dibutyl Phthalate Contaminated Wastewater in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetland Mesocosms10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125635 ↗
6. (2025, May 12). ECHA. Available online: https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals.
7. Electrochemical Treatment of Wastewater to Remove Contaminants from the Production and Disposal of Plastics: A Review10.1007/s10311-022-01497-8 ↗
8. Efficient Removal of Refractory Organic Matter from Printing and Dyeing Reverse Osmosis Concentrates by BDD Electrode10.1016/j.jece.2022.109173 ↗
9. Three-Dimensional-Electrode Electrochemical Oxidation of Refractory Organic Matter in a Cold High-Altitude Area: A Case Study of Dibutyl Phthalate10.54740/ros.2024.034 ↗
10. Electrochemical Degradation of Three Phthalate Esters in Synthetic Wastewater by Using a Ce-Doped Ti/PbO2 Electrode10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127488 ↗
11. Combining Photocatalytic and Electrocatalytic Oxidation for Dibutyl Phthalate Degradation: The Influence of Carbon-Coated Titanium Anode and Metal Oxide Catalysts10.1080/09593330.2024.2360747 ↗
12. Xu, J.-M., Chou, S.-H., Zhang, Y., Kumar, M., and Shen, S.-Y. (2021). Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate Plasticizer in Water by High-Performance IrO2-Ta2O5/Ti Electrocatalytic Electrode. Catalysts, 11.10.3390/catal11111368 ↗
13. Efficient Degradation of Diisobutyl Phthalate in Aqueous Solution through Electro-Fenton Process with Sacrificial Anode10.1016/j.jece.2020.104057 ↗
14. Study on the catalytic degradation of dibutyl phthalate by ferric cerium bimetal in electric-Fenton system
15. UV/Chlorine Process for Degradation of Benzothiazole and Benzotriazole in Water: Efficiency, Mechanism and Toxicity Evaluation10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144304 ↗
16. Evaluating the Synergistic Effect of UVC/e-H2O2 Applied for Benzotriazole Degradation in Water Matrices Using Catalyst-Free Printex L6 Carbon-Based Gas Diffusion Electrode10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.144016 ↗
17. Oxidative Removal of Benzotriazole Using Peroxymonosulfate/Ozone/Ultrasound: Synergy, Optimization, Degradation Intermediates and Utilizing for Real Wastewater10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125326 ↗
18. Flow-through Electrochemical Removal of Benzotriazole by Electroactive Ceramic Membrane10.1016/j.watres.2022.118454 ↗
19. Electrooxidation of Polar Benzotriazole—The Impact of Supporting Electrolyte
20. Effect of Electrolyte Composition on Electrochemical Oxidation: Active Sulfate Formation, Benzotriazole Degradation, and Chlorinated by-Products Distribution10.1016/j.envres.2022.113057 ↗
21. Cooling Tower Water Treatment Using a Combination of Electrochemical Oxidation and Constructed Wetlands10.1016/j.psep.2020.07.019 ↗
22. Degradation of Organic Pollutants by Photoelectro-Peroxone/ZVI Process: Synergistic, Kinetic and Feasibility Studies10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.08.102 ↗
23. Surfactant-Driven Dynamic Changes in Rheology of Activated Carbon Slurry Electrodes10.1021/acsami.4c04935 ↗
24. Isolation and Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa VK30 Capable of Degradation of Triton X-10010.1088/1755-1315/1368/1/012003 ↗
25. Degradation of Octylphenol Polyethoxylates with a Long Ethoxylate Chain Using the Laccase-Mediated Systems10.1007/s11356-021-13400-z ↗
26. Isolation and Characterization of Aeromonas Sp. TXBc10 Capable of High-Efficiency Degradation of Octylphenol Polyethoxylate from Tannery Wastewater10.1080/09593330.2019.1619842 ↗
27. Removal of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate from Laundry Wastewater Using Modified and Functionalized Activated Carbon10.1039/D3EW00329A ↗
28. Advanced Treatments for the Removal of Alkylphenols and Alkylphenol Polyethoxylates from Wastewater10.1007/978-3-030-69090-8_4 ↗
29. European Parliament and of the Council (2013). Directive 2013/39/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 August 2013, Amending Directives 2000/60/EC and 2008/105/EC as Regards Priority Substances in the Field of Water Policy, Official Journal of the European Union.
30. New Solution for Predicting the Removal Efficiency of Organic Contaminants by UV/H2O2: From a Case Study of 1H-Benzotriazole10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170767 ↗
31. Micelles Inhibit Electro-Oxidation Degradation of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates10.1016/j.cej.2021.133167 ↗
32. Degradation of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate 10 (NP10EO) in a Synthetic Aqueous Solution Using a Combined Treatment: Electrooxidation-Gamma Irradiation10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118929 ↗
33. Degradation of Nonylphenol Ethoxylate-10 (NPE-10) by Mediated Electrochemical Oxidation (MEO) Technology10.17576/jsm-2021-5002-09 ↗
34. Carbon Nanotube Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode for Electrochemical Oxidation of Alkylphenol Ethoxylate10.2166/wst.2018.196 ↗
35. Adsorption Driven Preferential Degradation of Alkyl Phenols on Hydrophobic Perfluoroalkyl Modified {0 0 1}-TiO210.1016/j.cej.2018.09.198 ↗
36. Efficient, Electrochemical Degradation of Organic Pollutants via Nanofibrous Pt/Ir–RuO2 Electrode with Enhanced Stability10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143826 ↗
37. Occurrence and Removal of Organic Micropollutants in Landfill Leachates Treated by Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes10.1021/acs.est.5b02809 ↗
38. Electrokinetic Remediation of Six Emerging Organic Contaminants from Soil10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.06.017 ↗
39. Determination of polar benzotriazoles in aqueous environmental samples by hollow-fibre microextraction method with LC-MS/MS and its comparison to a conventional solid-phase extraction method10.1016/j.microc.2021.106191 ↗
40. Electrooxidation of Phenol on Boron-doped Diamond and Mixed-metal Oxide Anodes: Process Evaluation, Transformation By-products, and Ecotoxicity10.1149/1945-7111/acb84b ↗
41. Šimenko Lalič, T., Polak, M., and Prosen, H. (2023, January 25–28). Development of gas chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of alkylphenols in aqueous samples. Proceedings of the YISAC 2023—28th Young Investigators’ Seminar on Analytical Chemistry, Belgrade, Serbia. Book of Abstracts.
42. Homogeneous and Heterogeneous AOPs for Rapid Degradation of Triton X-100 in Aqueous Media via UV Light, Nano Titania Hydrogen Peroxide and Potassium Persulfate10.1016/j.cej.2010.12.017 ↗
43. Electro-Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP) in Printing and Dyeing Reverse Osmosis Concentrate10.1007/s11270-024-07051-2 ↗
44. Investigation into the Kinetics, Byproducts, and Ecotoxicity of UV/NaClO-Induced Transformation of Dibutyl Phthalate in Tap Water10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106884 ↗
45. Degradation of Dibutyl Phthalate from Synthetic and Real Wastewater Using Ultrasound/Hydrogen Peroxide System10.5004/dwt.2023.29349 ↗
46. Electrochemical Degradation Performance and Mechanism of Dibutyl Phthalate with Hydrophobic PbO2 Electrode10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132638 ↗
47. Persulfate-Based Advanced Oxidation: Critical Assessment of Opportunities and Roadblocks10.1021/acs.est.9b07082 ↗
48. Reaction Pathway and Oxidation Mechanisms of Dibutyl Phthalate by Persulfate Activated with Zero-Valent Iron10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.093 ↗
49. Phthalate Esters: Occurrence, Toxicity, Bioremediation, and Advanced Oxidation Processes10.2166/wst.2023.119 ↗
50. Fundamentals and Advances on the Mechanisms of Electrochemical Generation of Persulfate and Sulfate Radicals in Aqueous Medium10.1016/j.coche.2022.100870 ↗
51. Degradation of benzotriazole by sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation process10.1080/09593330.2019.1625959 ↗
52. Transformation of 1H-Benzotriazole by Ozone in Aqueous Solution10.1021/es300338e ↗
53. Mass spectrometry investigation into the oxidative degradation of poly(ethylene glycol)10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2020.109388 ↗
54. Robnik, B., Naumoska, K., and Časar, Z. (2020). A Novel Testing Approach for Oxidative Degradation Dependent Incompatibility of Amine Moiety Containing Drugs with PEGs in Solid-State. Pharmaceutics, 12.10.3390/pharmaceutics12010037 ↗
55. Fe(III)–oxalate complexes mediated photolysis of aqueous alkylphenol ethoxylates under simulated sunlight conditions10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.11.002 ↗
56. Electrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone using Eu-doped PbO2 electrodes: Electrode characterization, influencing factors and degradation pathways10.1016/j.jelechem.2021.115493 ↗