Associate Professor Nan Li’s Paper Published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials

Recently, Dr. Nan Li from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering published a paper titled “A Novel Electro-coagulation-Fenton for Energy Efficient Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins Removal without Chemical Addition” in the top environmental engineering publication Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Harmful cyanobacterial bloom is a serious threat to global aquatic ecology and drinking water safety. Electro-Fenton (EF) has emerged as an efficient process for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins removal, but high consumption of energy and chemicals remain a major bottleneck.

Dr. Li’s study presents a novel low energy consumption convertible three-electrode Electro-Coagulation-Fenton process for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins removal with no additional chemicals. It demonstrated the freely alternating between Electrocoagulation (EC) and EF by switching electrodes for the first time. The optimal aerated EC was operated at pH 8 and 100 mA to remove 91 ± 2% of cyanobacterial cells and 15% of Microcystins (MCs). Coagulants generated in EC were adsorbed on cyanobacterial cells to form a protective layer against algae disruption and cyanotoxins release. Residual MCs and cyanobacterial cells were completely mineralized by EF at 28 mA with iron ions and H2O2 generated in-situ.

Compared to traditional EF, the optimal Electro-Coagulation-Fenton process increased total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency by 30%, yet reduced energy consumption by up to 92%. The novel Electro-Coagulation-Fenton process is a promising technology for the efficient treatment of the mixture of suspended solid pollutants and persistent organic pollutants in one system with low energy consumption.

By Nan Li，School of Environmental Science and Engineering

Editors: Eva Yin & Doris Harrington