A microfluidic flow-through electrochemical reactor for wastewater treatment: A proof-of-concept

In this work, a microfluidic flow-through electrochemical reactor for wastewater treatment is presented which simultaneously minimizes ohmic drop and mass transfer limitations, two of the most important bottlenecks in electrochemical wastewater treatment. A proof-of-concept comparison versus a state-of-the-art flow-by commercial reactor revealed that the proposed reactor greatly outperforms the commercial system. The novel system requires only 2.4 Ah dm(-3) (vs. 11.4 Ah dm(-3)) and 12.5 kWh m(-3) (vs. 75.0 kWh m(-3)) to completely mineralize 100 mg dm(-3) of clopyralid spiked in a low-conductive (1 mS cm(-1)) matrix with both systems using diamond anodes. The microfluidic flow-through configuration represents a promising approach to the development of cost-effective electrochemical technologies for wastewater treatment.