The reuse of bauxite residue as a cathode for heterogeneous electro-Fenton. (1st September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xue, Sheng-guo; Tang, Lu; Li, Meng-li; Fu, Ding; Tang, Tian; Jiang, Jun
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 266(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09-01
• Subjects: Electro-Fenton -- Bauxite residue -- Pyrolysis -- Pollutant degradation -- Waste reusing; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122044
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Bauxite residue is an alkaline waste generated from aluminum smelting and generally treated by land-fill, severely challenging the surrounding environmental safety. Here, this work demonstrated that bauxite residue could be reused as a superior cathode for heterogeneous electro-Fenton (EF) process to degrade organic pollutants. With bauxite residue and straw as raw materials, a Fe-C-N contained catalyst was successfully prepared via a pyrolysis route in the presence of urea. This Fe-C-N contained catalyst exhibited promising electrocatalytic performance to reduce O2 to produce H2 O2 and activate H2 O2 to generate . OH simultaneously. As a heterogeneous EF cathode, 97% of rhodamine B (10 mg L −1 ) could be degraded within 45 min at pH 3 with a catalyst dosage of 0.2 mg mL −1, which was comparable to those reported advanced EF cathodes. The appropriate reduction of Fe-contained minerals and carbonization of straw with N doping were attributed to the superior catalytic properties. Thus, the current study provides a feasible strategy to reuse bauxite residue and upgrade them into value-added electrode material. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Bauxite residue was reused to prepare an efficient cathode for electro-Fenton. The optimized Fe-C-N cathode degrades RhB (10 mg L −1 ) fully within 45 min at pH 3. The homogeneous catalysis by Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ in the solution is the dominant mechanism.