Electrochemical treatment of polyvinylpyrrolidone production wastewater using a boron-doped diamond anode
- 1College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China
- 2Zhejiang Yiqing Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 310018, PR China
- 3College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China; Corresponding author.
Abstract
Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) production wastewater is characterized by high organic concentration, high total nitrogen content, and poor biodegradability. To systematically investigate the treatment efficiency and intrinsic degradation mechanism of electrocatalytic oxidation for this refractory wastewater, actual industrial PVP wastewater was selected as the research object, and electrocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out using boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes. Material characterization demonstrate that the as-prepared BDD electrode has a uniform surface microstructure and excellent electrocatalytic activity. Single-factor experiments identify suitable operating ranges: a current density of 12.5–17.5 mA cm⁻², an initial pH of 4–8, and a NaCl electrolyte concentration of 1.5–3.0 g L⁻¹ . COD removal is mainly achieved through direct oxidation driven by hydroxyl radicals (•OH), with current density being the most significant influencing factor. In contrast, ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) elimination depends on indirect oxidation mediated by electrogenerated active chlorine species, making electrolyte concentration the dominant control parameter. After optimization via response surface methodology (RSM), the optimal reaction conditions were determined to be a current density of 15.0 mA cm⁻², an initial pH of 6.0, and a NaCl concentration of 2.25 g L⁻¹ . Under these optimized conditions, the COD and NH₃-N removal efficiencies reached 97.61% and 96.21% after 5 h of electrolysis, respectively. Free radical quenching experiments suggest that •OH acts as the core reactive species responsible for PVP mineralization, while superoxide radicals (•O₂⁻) exert only an auxiliary effect. The degradation of PVP may proceed through a sequential pathway: macromolecular depolymerization and backbone cleavage, pyrrolidone heterocycle ring-opening, oxidative breakdown of small-molecule intermediates, and complete mineralization into inorganic end products. During this process, organic nitrogen bound in PVP molecular chains is proposed to be gradually converted into ammonium nitrogen and further oxidized for thorough nitrogen removal.
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BibTeX
@article{gao2026electrochemical,
title = {{Electrochemical treatment of polyvinylpyrrolidone production wastewater using a boron-doped diamond anode}},
author = {Ran Gao and Weiyang Huang and Qingzhang Ding and Rui Zheng and Zhe Yan and Jianjun Chen},
journal = {International Journal of Electrochemical Science},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101530},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101530},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Electrochemical treatment of polyvinylpyrrolidone production wastewater using a boron-doped diamond anode
AU - Ran Gao
AU - Weiyang Huang
AU - Qingzhang Ding
AU - Rui Zheng
AU - Zhe Yan
AU - Jianjun Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - International Journal of Electrochemical Science
DO - 10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101530
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijoes.2026.101530
AB - Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) production wastewater is characterized by high organic concentration, high total nitrogen content, and poor biodegradability. To systematically investigate the treatment efficiency and intrinsic degradation mechanism of electrocatalytic oxidation for this refractory wastewater, actual industrial PVP wastewater was selected as the research object, and electrocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out using boron-doped diamond (BDD) anodes. Material characterization demonstrate that the as-prepared BDD electrode has a uniform surface microstructure and excellent electrocatalytic activity. Single-factor experiments identify suitable operating ranges: a current density of 12.5–17.5 mA cm⁻², an initial pH of 4–8, and a NaCl electrolyte concentration of 1.5–3.0 g L⁻¹ . COD removal is mainly achieved through direct oxidation driven by hydroxyl radicals (•OH), with current density being the most significant influencing factor. In contrast, ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) elimination depends on indirect oxidation mediated by electrogenerated active chlorine species, making electrolyte concentration the dominant control parameter. After optimization via response surface methodology (RSM), the optimal reaction conditions were determined to be a current density of 15.0 mA cm⁻², an initial pH of 6.0, and a NaCl concentration of 2.25 g L⁻¹ . Under these optimized conditions, the COD and NH₃-N removal efficiencies reached 97.61% and 96.21% after 5 h of electrolysis, respectively. Free radical quenching experiments suggest that •OH acts as the core reactive species responsible for PVP mineralization, while superoxide radicals (•O₂⁻) exert only an auxiliary effect. The degradation of PVP may proceed through a sequential pathway: macromolecular depolymerization and backbone cleavage, pyrrolidone heterocycle ring-opening, oxidative breakdown of small-molecule intermediates, and complete mineralization into inorganic end products. During this process, organic nitrogen bound in PVP molecular chains is proposed to be gradually converted into ammonium nitrogen and further oxidized for thorough nitrogen removal.
SN - 1452-3981
ER -