The renaissance of the diamond electrode - technological and economic advantages

Different electrodes are used in the electrolysis of water / wastewater depending on the application or issue. For example, sacrificial anodes are mainly iron or aluminium as the metal used in electrocoagulation to purify wastewater.
If certain compounds are to be removed, other electrodes are used - the DSA electrodes (dimension stable anode), which work with different coatings. These coatings can be, for example, rare earths in oxide form (RuO2 / IrO2), or even lead dioxide, carbon electrodes / dimensionally stable glasy-carbon and, as a carbon variant, the diamond electrode. It is doped with boron during manufacture in order to achieve a certain conductivity.
The diamond electrode, known as a bdd electrode, is excellent at breaking down organic compounds through 'terminal oxi-dation' (also known as mineralisation), including those that cannot be removed from the water by electrocoagulation (EC) - highly water-soluble substances such as sugar, organic acids, alcohols, amino acids, etc.
For example, fractions obtained by vapour recirculation that still amount to 1000 to 3000 mg/l in the COD level can be reduced to 20-50 mg/l.
If one compares the effectiveness of this electrode with EC, RO, NF technology and classic precipitation methods, the technological and economic advantages are immediately apparent. The effective and rapid oxidative degradation occurs through the formation of hydroxyl radicals. This degradation does not produce precipitates, retentates or solid by-products, but a gaseous reaction product: carbon dioxide, which is bound at an alkaline pH, and water. The decrease in the pH value from e.g. 9 to below 7 and the change in conductivity, as well as the redox potential, are used in monitoring to document and control the effective reaction.
This has enormous economic consequences for the wastewater treatment process, as no metal hydroxide is produced after water removal, metal oxide, which requires complex handling and investment in equipment such as coagulation tanks with chemical additives, chamber filter presses or belt filters. It is understandable that costs can be reduced by up to a third compared to EC.
In the past, EO was often used as a downstream method until it was realised how efficiently this technology alone works. Furthermore, optimised processes have reduced the price of diamond electrodes. This is why there have been countless publications in the last decade on how to purify wastewater.
The cost advantage in terms of investment and operating costs is significantly high compared to the technologies mentioned above. Electrolysis is a technology that treats water, but not solids, dispersions or suspensions - it is also referred to as 'electrode driven technology', as the choice of electrode determines the application / effect and result.
The number of applications in various industries has grown in the meantime - it is actually possible to purify almost all wastewater, including biologically treated wastewater, or to open up new applications by combining it with other technologies.

Bioway Consulting SL
C. / Tirant Lo Blanc 4, room 19
ES-03750 Pedreguert / Alicante - Spain
Phone: 0034 965 030 786
Mail: contact@biowayconsulting.com
Homepage: https.//www.biowayconsulting.com
Presscontact: Mr. Norbert Pautz (same address and phone)

Bioway Consulting Ltd is an engineering company in the consulting business, active in research and development of new technologies in the field of wastewater treatment based on electrolysis technologies.
It was founded in 1989 in Germany as a sole proprietorship and later continued in Switzerland as Bioway GmbH. The main activity at that time was initially as a distributor for renowned companies from abroad (e.g. Charm Sciences / USA and Malthus Instruments Ltd / UK etc.). This was followed by own developments with production such as the IGDS (Intelligent Gravimetric Dilution System) and devices for water disinfection.
The focus on water disinfection / water and waste water purification was intensified. In addition, a system for the inactivation of airborne germs (viruses/bacteria) was developed and manufactured (Corona Wave).
Today Bioway is active in the consulting business and co-operates with other European companies in the field of waste water purification and develops processes by testing customer waste water samples in its own laboratory.

This release was published on openPR.