A comparison between flow-through cathode and mixed tank cells for the electro-Fenton process with conductive diamond anode.

This work focusses on the production of hydrogen peroxide and in the removal of bromacil by the electro-Fenton process using two different electrochemical cells: mixed tank cell (MTC) and flow-through cell (FTC). Both cells use boron doped diamond (BDD) as anode and carbon felt as cathode to promote the formation of hydrogen peroxide. In the case of the MTC, two surface area ratios, Acathode/Aanode, have been used. Results show that the H2O2 produced by MTC and FTCPSC increases with the time until a stabilization state. For the FTCPSC, the average hydrogen peroxide concentration produced increases progressively with the current, while for MTC the maximum values are found in applying very low current densities. In addition, the FTCPSC provides higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide for the same current density applied. Regarding the MTC, it can be stated that the higher the area of the cathode, the higher is the amount of H2O2 produced and the lower is the cell voltage (because of a more efficient current lines distribution). The initial oxidation of bromacil is very efficiently attained being rapidly depleted from wastewater. However, the higher production of hydrogen peroxide obtained by the FTCPSC cell does not reflect on a better performance of the electro-Fenton process. Thus, bromacil is better mineralized using the MTC cell with the lowest cathode area. This observation has been explained because larger concentrations of produced hydrogen peroxide seems to benefit the oxidation of intermediates and not the mineralization.

Photochemically-induced fluorescence properties of two benzoyl- and phenylurea pesticides and determination in natural waters.

A photo-induced fluorescence (PIF) method was developed for the determination of two benzoyl- and phenylurea pesticides, namely diflubenzuron (DFB) and fenuron (FEN). The photoconversion under UV irradiation of both pesticides into strongly fluorescent photoproducts was performed in several media (methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, pH4 aqueous solution and pH4 water-methanol (30:70, v/v) mixture). PIF parameters were optimized. Analytical figures of merit for the PIF determination of DFB and FEN were satisfactory, with rather wide linear dynamic range (LDR) values of one to two orders of magnitude, relatively low limit of detection (LOD) values of, respectively, 9-24 ng/mL for DFB and 1-28 ng/mL for FEN, and limit of quantification (LOQ) values of, respectively, 30-80 ng/mL for DFB and 4-95 ng/mL for FEN, according to the medium. Relative standard deviation (RSD) values were in the range 1.7-5.6%. PIF was validated by comparing its analytical performances to those of a standard UV absorption spectrophotometric method. The optimized PIF method was applied to the quantitative analysis of both pesticides in various spiked natural water samples collected in a Senegal agricultural area by the standard addition procedure prior to extraction steps in dichloromethane, with satisfactory mean recovery percentage values (97.0-105.3 for DFB and 98.3-102.8% for FEN). An interference study of foreign species, including pesticides and inorganic ions, likely to be present in natural waters, was also carried out.

Study of the toxicity of sulfamethoxazole and its degradation products in water by a bioluminescence method during application of the electro-Fenton treatment.

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a synthetic antibiotic widely applied as a bacteriostatic drug to treat a number of diseases. SMX can persist in the environment for long periods of time because of its low biodegradability, which may result in various, direct and indirect, toxicological effects on the environment and on human health. Therefore, we have developed the electrochemical advanced oxidation process (AOP) "electro-Fenton" to degrade SMX in aqueous media. In this work, a detailed study of the evolution of toxicity of SMX and its degradation products in aqueous solutions, during treatment by the electro-Fenton AOP, is described, using the bioluminescence Microtox® method, based on the inhibition of luminescence of marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri. Samples were collected at various electrolysis times and analyzed by HPLC for quantifying the evolution of the degradation products, and their toxicity was measured by the Microtox® method. Our results demonstrated that the toxicity of SMX aqueous solutions varied considerably with the electrolysis time and the applied current intensity. This phenomenon could be explained by the formation and disappearance of several degradation products, including cyclic and/or aromatic intermediates, and short-chain acid carboxylic acids, having a toxicity different of the initial antibiotic. The curves of the % of bacterial luminescence inhibition vs. electrolysis time, corresponding to the evolution of the toxicity of the formed degradation products, were investigated and tentatively interpreted.

Mineralization of herbicides imazapyr and imazaquin in aqueous medium by, fenton, photo-fenton and electro-fenton processes.

Oxidative degradation of aqueous solutions of imazapyr and imazaquin herbicides at room temperature and pH 3.0 has been investigated by Fenton, photo-Fenton and electro-Fenton processes. The high degradation power of these advanced oxidation processes is due to the large production of hydroxyl radicals (*OH), a strong oxidizing agent, by reaction between H2O2 and Fe2+ in the solution to be treated. These radicals are used to oxidize organic pollutants to aromatic and aliphatic intermediates through subsequent oxidation until complete mineralization. Degradation kinetics and evolution of the chemical composition of treated solutions in each process was followed by high performance liquid chromatography. The mineralization efficiency was determined by chemical oxygen demand analysis. The effect of experimental parameters such as initial herbicide concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration, ferrous ion concentration and applied current on the degradation kinetics was examined. Better degradation and mineralization efficiency were observed in photo-Fenton and electro-Fenton processes compared with conventional Fenton process. A pseudo-first order kinetic model was employed to describe the result and determine the apparent and absolute rate constants of the reaction between hydroxyl radicals and herbicides.

RINm5F cell culture on Sephadex derivatives.

Interactions between polystyrene sodium sulfonate and insulin-secreting RINm5F cells have been previously described. When cultured on these microcarriers, cells exhibited normal growth, altered morphology, and inhibition of the insulin secretion was observed. For the sake of comparison, interactions of RINm5F cells with Sephadex derivatives, namely, carboxymethyl Sephadex (CM Seph), benzylaminated CM Seph (CMB Seph), and sulfonated CMB Seph (CMBS Seph), as well Sephadex, were studied. Cells attached poorly and did not spread onto Sephadex and CM Seph microcarriers, but all other characteristics were normal. In contrast, with cells cultured on CMB Seph and CMBS Seph microcarriers cell attachment, morphology, and growth rate were comparable to those of cells grown on classic plastic wells. But, in the latter case, surprisingly, insulin secretion was enhanced. This effect is composition of the microcarriers dependent. The insulin secretion per cell-microcarriers composition relationship suggests a specific interaction between an unknown membrane receptor of RINm5F cells and a composite ligand site made of a combination of different chemical functional groups present at the microcarriers surface.