Electrochemical Degradation of Diuron by Anodic Oxidation on a Commercial Ru0.3Ti0.7O2 Anode in a Sulfate Medium

Abstract

This work presents the electrochemical degradation of the herbicide Diuron by anodic oxidation on a Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2 metal mixed oxide anode using sulfate as the electrolyte. The study includes the influence of Diuron concentration and current density on anodic oxidation. The results evidence a first-order degradation, with the highest capacity achieved at 40 mA cm−2 and at an initial Diuron concentration of 38 mg L−1. Nevertheless, in terms of efficiency and energy demand, the operation at 10 mA cm−2 is favored due to the more efficient and less energy-consuming condition. To discern the optimum design and operation conditions, this work presents the results of a preliminary technical–economic analysis, demonstrating that, to minimize the total costs of the system, it is recommended to seek the most efficient conditions, i.e., the conditions demanding the lowest applied charges with the highest Diuron degradation. At the same time, attention must be given to the required cell voltage to not increase excessively the operating costs.