Electrochemical incineration of organic pollutants: effect of the nature ofthe pollutants and of the temperature

The electrochemical oxidation of some organic pollutants, including three carboxylic acids (oxalic, formic andmaleic), at boron doped diamond (BDD) and DSA anodes, using galvanostatic alimentation, was investigated inorder to study the effect of the temperature and of the nature of the pollutants on the process. In incinerationelectrolyses, the performances of the process in terms of carboxylic acid conversion and current efficiencydramatically depend on the adopted operative conditions. The abatement of the organic pollutant depends on thenature of the carboxylic acid. Quite interestingly, the opposite effect of the nature of the substrate on theperformances of the process was observed at BDD and DSA anodes.