Electro-generation of H2O2 and abatement of organic pollutant in water by an electro-Fenton process in a microfluidic reactor

The electro-generation of H2O2 and the abatement of the model organic pollutant Acid Orange 7 (AO7) in water by an electro-Fenton process were performed both in a conventional undivided macro cell and, for the first time, in a microfluidic reactor. Under optimized operative conditions, the reduction of oxygen in the microdevice gave rise, using graphite cathode, to a concentration of H2O2 of about 6 mM, one order of magnitude higher than that achieved in conventional cells. Similarly, when electro-Fenton was performed in the microfluidic reactor a dramatic increase of the abatement of COD was achieved with respect to that obtained in a conventional cell. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.