Oxidative degradation of electroplating wastewater by an electro-Fenton process using GO/TiO<sub>2</sub>NTs electrode

Electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) is a versatile treatment method; however, it has not yet been used for the treatment of electroplating wastewater using graphene oxide (GO) coated TiO₂ nanotubes (GO/TiO₂NTs) electrode. A simple anodization technique has been adopted to synthesize GO/TiO₂NTs electrode. The present work aimed to study an E-Fenton treatment to investigate the effect of different parameters on % COD removal and energy consumption using GO/TiO₂NTs electrode. The performance of the treatment process was examined in terms of % COD removal and energy consumed at three process parameters: current, time, and ferrous sulfate concentration. The optimum operating conditions were determined using multiple responses optimization based on Box-Behnken design (BBD). At optimum operational parameters, the results revealed that the % COD removal and energy consumed were 96.27% and 15.35 kWh/m³, respectively. The pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics was fitted to the experimental data at optimum conditions. Possible intermediates were identified based on the GC-MS analysis, and a corresponding tentative degradation pathway has been proposed. Furthermore, a recyclability and stability study of the synthesized electrode has also been performed. Moreover, total organic carbon (TOC) study revealed that E-Fenton has the potential to detoxify electroplating effluents. Hence, GO/TiO₂NTs electrodes can be highly efficient in degrading hazardous pollutants.