Enhanced three-dimensional electrochemical process using magnetic recoverable of Fe3O4@GAC towards furfural degradation and mineralization

Furfural is as one of the major environmental pollutants in different industrial effluents such as refinery and petrochemical, paper, cardboard and oil refining. This toxic chemical is irritant and causes allergy for skin, eyes and mucous membranes. This study was developed to investigate the efficiency of a three-dimensional electrochemical process in the presence of granular activated carbon magnetized with Fe3O4 (Fe3O4@GAC) particle electrodes for removal of furfural from aqueous solution. The particle electrodes structural and morphological featured were determined via BET, VSM, XRD, FE-SEM and FTIR techniques. The experiments were performed based on central composite design (CCD) and the role of influencing factors including reaction time, pH, voltage and initial furfural concentrations at five levels were evaluated. The Quadratic model with high correlation coefficient = 0.9872 (R2 and (R2Adj = 0.9724)) was suggested for experimental data analysis. The performance of electrochemical oxidation towards furfural degradation was enhanced substantially after adding Fe3O4@GAC. The highest furfural removal efficiency (98.2%) was achieved under optimal conditions (furfural: 201 mg/L, electrolysis time: 69 min, voltage: 19 V, and pH: 5.0). Besides, over 78 and 74 % of COD and TOC were removed by Fe3O4@GAC-based three-dimensional process, respectively. Based on the COD/TOC ratio and average oxidation state (AOS) index, a significant increase was observed in the biodegradability of intermediates of furfural after treatment. Results showed that three-dimensional electrochemical process with particle electrodes is a promising technology for efficient removal of furfural, even at high concentrations. Results of Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis and degradation pathway showed that furfural could be oxidized to compounds with smaller molecular masses, which eventually converted to carbon dioxide and water.