An active electro-Fenton PVDF/SS/PPy cathode membrane can remove contaminant by filtration and mitigate fouling by pairing with sacrificial iron anode

Cathode membranes can provide innovative solutions for membrane-fouling mitigation and filtration performance enhancement, in combination with electric field in a new electrochemical system. In this research, a novel polyvinylidene fluoride/stainless steel/polypyrrole (PVDF/SS/PPy) cathode membrane was prepared via in situ flow-through electro-polymerization method. The PVDF/SS/PPy membrane exhibited excellent electric catalytic activity for 2-electron ORR (oxygen reduction reaction). A battery system with PVDF/SS/PPy membrane cathode and Fe sacrificial anode was developed for in situ •OH generation. A pH range of 3.5–4.0 is preferred and the area ratio of iron anode to PVDF/SS/PPy cathode membrane was ~1:6 according to the •OH production and iron consumption results. The phenol filtration tests suggested that the PVDF/SS/PPy cathode membrane has improved selectivity for removing small refractory organic pollutant such as phenol, the removal rate increased from 54.7% to 79.3%, while flux decreased from 152 L/(m2·h) to 19 L/(m2·h). The results of filtrating river water and BSA indicated that the PVDF/SS/PPy cathode membrane had excellent anti-fouling performance when the foulants load matches the •OH production.