Abatement of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane in water by reduction at silver cathode and oxidation at boron doped diamond anode in micro reactors

The treatment of aqueous solutions of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane was performed by anodic oxidation at boron doped diamond (BDD), cathodic reduction at silver and coupled processes. Experiments were performed in macro and micro reactors with an interelectrode distance lower than 100. μm. Drastically higher abatements of the chlorinated compound and current efficiencies were obtained in microdevices that, furthermore, allowed to perform the electrolyses with low cell voltages in the absence of supporting electrolyte. When reduction and oxidation processes were carried out simultaneously in the microreactor, a higher abatement of pollutants was obtained with the same amount of the passed charge…