Evaluation of a new electrochemical concept for vacuum toilet wastewater treatment – Comparison with ozonation and peroxone processes

Abstract New electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) are becoming increasingly attractive for use in wastewater treatment. A reactor with a boron-doped diamond anode and a gas diffusion cathode seems to be a promising approach for water purification, because of the in situ generation of highly reactive species such as anodic • OH radicals and cathodic H 2 O 2 . To evaluate the application potential of this EAOP concept, the treatment efficiency and energy efficiency were compared with those of well-established AOPs such as ozonation and peroxone processes (O 3  + H 2 O 2 ). In this study, the innovative electrochemical batch treatment of artificial toilet wastewater showed a COD degradation efficiency of 38.1%, which is higher than that obtained using ozonation (17.0%) or the peroxone process (25.7%). Additionally, the specific energy demand is lower for EAOP (93.6 kWh/kg m COD ) than for ozonation (125.4 kWh/kg m COD ) or the peroxone process (134.5 kWh/kg m COD ).