Photo-assisted electrochemical oxidation of atrazine on a commercial Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2 DSA electrode.

This paper presents the study of the degradation of the pesticide atrazine, employing photoassisted electrochemical methods at a dimensionally stable anode of nominal composition Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2. All experiments were performed in a flow cell, and the effects of current density, electrolyte flow rate, as well the use of different supporting electrolytes are reported. The results indicate that the energy per order (E(EO)/kW h m(-3) order(-1)) is substantially reduced when the photochemical and electrochemical techniques are combined. It is observed that complete atrazine removal is achieved at low current densities when the combined method is employed, thus reducing the energy required to operate the electrochemical system. The study of the electrolyte flow rate through the cell indicates that the photoassisted removal of atrazine is controlled by mass transfer. The degradation of commercial atrazine solutions is also presented, and the results show that the efficiency of atrazine removal is reduced compared with that of simulated solutions, due to the presence of the additional components present in the commercial formula.