Removal of pesticide chlorobenzene by anodic degradation: Variable effects and mechanism

Abstract The oxidation of chlorobenzene (CB) was studied by electrochemical electrolysis using boron-doped diamond (BDD), PbO2 or platine (Pt) as anode and graphite bar as cathode. The effect of applied current density, supporting electrolyte and initial pH value were also studied. The results demonstrated that BDD anode had the best effectiveness and accomplishment of electrochemical degradation of CB compared to PbO2 and Pt anodes. For a current density of 20 mA/cm2 and at pH = 3, the elimination of COD and TOC were about 97% and 98%, respectively, after 360 min of electrolysis with the BDD anode. Pseudo-first order kinetics appears to be the most appropriate to describe the degradation of chlorobenzene. The electrochemical mechanism of chlorobenzene on BDD was proposed based on the identified intermediates.