Resumen:
The goal of this research was the
electrooxidation (EO) of a nonionic surfactant
nonylphenol decaethoxylate (NP-10) in aqueous solution
and denim wastewater. Three different configuration
systems were evaluated in batch cells using a
boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode; copper, iron, and
BDD were used as cathodes. The EO process was
carried out in a batch process, in a glass cell with a
capacity of 1000 mL. The anode surface area was
0.0307 m2 and 1–3 A of current intensity were applied
(3, 6, 10 mA/cm2) with an electrolysis time of 240 min
for aqueous solution and 780 min for denim wastewater
in order to investigate the degradation of the surfactant.
The processes were analyzed in terms of chemical oxygen
demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC).
The maximum mineralization efficiency in aqueous
solution for the BDD-Cu electrooxidation system was
92.2% for COD and 45.6% for TOC at pH 2 and 3 mA/
cm2 of current intensity. For denim wastewater, the
removal efficiency was 44.1% for COD and 26.5% for
TOC at pH 4.5 and 6 mA/cm2 of current intensity, using
a BDD-BDD system. The raw and treated (aqueous
solution and denim) wastewater were characterized by
UV-Vis and infrared spectroscopy.