International Journal of Waste Resources

Abstract

Effect of Ruthenium Oxide/Titanium Mesh Anode Microstructure on Electrooxidation of Pharmaceutical Effluent

Vahidhabanu S, Abilash John Stephen, Ananthakumar S, Ramesh Babu B

The present contribution investigates the influence of Ruthenium oxide (RuO2) microstructure on titanium substrate for treatment of pharmaceutical effluent. RuO2/Ti electrodes were prepared at two different sintering temperatures viz. 450°C and 550°C, and subjected to degradation studies on pharmaceutical effluent. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used for analysis of intermediates formed during degradation. The performance of these electrodes were presented and discussed on the basis of sintering temperatures. Electrodes prepared at 450°C and 550°C gave 84% and 96% color removal respectively. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal was found to be 68% and 79% for the electrodes prepared at 450°C and 550°C respectively. The surface morphology of these electrodes were identified and studied by Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM). X Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns showed the presence of anatase phase TiO2 at 550°C. The microstructural changes on sintering the catalytic coating caused a significant improvement in anode performance in electrodes sintered at 550°C . The electrodes are electrochemically active and stable, and are chemically inert under operating conditions.