PFAS degradation by anodic electrooxidation: Influence of BDD electrode configuration and presence of dissolved organic matter

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose substantial environmental and human health risks. Electrochemical oxidation technology is a promising large-scale solution for PFAS degradation due to its simplicity and minimal waste generation. This study investigated the electrochemical performance of boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes in degrading PFAS using a recirculation cell with plate and mesh electrodes. The study found that increasing the current density from 6.4 mA/cm2 to 40 mA/cm2 resulted in a transition of the reaction rate from pseudo-first-order toward zero-order kinetics. The stepwise degradation mechanism and the formation of intermediate products were also explored. Carbon and fluorine molar balance analysis revealed that the missing intermediates do not contain fluoride atoms in their molecular formula. The shape and surface of the electrodes had a significant impact on their performance, in particular, improving the degradation of the most recalcitrant perfluorobutanoic acid. The influence of different fractions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on perfluorohexanoic acid degradation shows that overall, DOM does not significantly inhibit its degradation. Some inhibition was observed in the presence of DOM enriched in carbohydrates, organics that are known to exert strong interaction properties with organic and inorganic surfaces. The synergistic effect of direct anodic oxidation and indirect degradation by reactive radical species enables the decomposition of both DOM and PFAS. Finally, high removal percentages of short (up to 96 %) and long-chain PFAS (up to 99 %) were obtained using BDD electrooxidation cells combining plate and mesh electrodes when treating reverse osmosis concentrate containing PFAS.