Development of an Electrochemical Ceramic Membrane Filtration System for Efficient Contaminant Removal from Waters

Inability to remove low-molecular-weight anthropogenic contaminants is a critical issue in low-pressure membrane filtration processes for water treatment. In this work, a novel electrochemical ceramic membrane filtration (ECMF) system using TiO2@SnO2–Sb anode was developed for removing persistent p-chloroaniline (PCA). Results showed that the ECMF system achieved efficient removal of PCA from contaminated waters. At a charging voltage of 3 V, the PCA removal rate of TiO2@SnO2–Sb ECMF system under flow-through mode was 2.4 times that of flow-by mode. The energy consumption for 50% of PCA removal for TiO2@SnO2–Sb ECMF at 3 V under flow-through mode was 0.38 Wh/L, much lower than that of flow-by operation (1.5 Wh/L), which was attributed to the improved utilization of the surface adsorbed HO· and dissociated HO· driven by the enhanced mass transfer of PCA toward the anode surface. Benefiting from the increased production of reactive oxygen species such as O2•–, H2O2, and HO· arising from excitation of anatase TiO2, TiO2@SnO2–Sb ECMF exhibited a superior electrocatalytic activity to the SnO2–Sb ECMF system. The degradation pathways of PCA initiated by OH· attack were further proposed, with the biodegradable short-chain carboxylic acids (mainly formic, acetic, and oxalic acids) identified as the dominant oxidized products. These results highlight the potential of the ECMF system for cost-effective water purification.