Scale-up bio-electro-Fenton system with MoS₂/CNTs coated C/PTFE cathode for phenolic wastewater treatment

Bio-electro-Fenton (BEF) technology, a sustainable and energy-efficient advanced oxidation process (AOP), has been developed for the treatment of refractory organic wastewater. This study introduces a novel 20 L scale-up BEF reactor utilizing multiple MoS₂/carbon nano-tube (MoS₂/CNTs) coated carbon/Polytetrafluoroethylene (C/PTFE) gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) as cathodes for the efficient treatment of phenolic wastewater. MoS₂, acting as a co-catalyst, significantly enhanced phenol removal by improving Fe²⁺ recovery. The maximum removal rates of phenol and total organic carbon (TOC) reached 94 % and 87 %, respectively. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of velocity, fluid trace, and concentration distribution of H₂O₂, O₂, and phenol demonstrated excellent mass transfer and diffusion performance of the scaled-up BEF reactor. These findings suggest that the scale-up BEF system with multiple electrodes is a promising technology for the degradation of phenol and may also be an attractive strategy for the treatment of refractory organic wastewater.