Intensifying electrified flow-through water treatment technologies via local environment modification

Abstract

● Modifying local environment can intensify the performance of flow-through electrodes.

● Reaction rate and selectivity can be improved by local environment modification.

● Modifications include spatial confinement, enhanced local field, and periodic vortex.

● Near-complete removal of low-concentration emerging contaminants can be realized.

● Electrified flow-through systems are promising for fit-for-purpose water treatment.

Removing high-risk and persistent contaminants from water is challenging, because they typically exist at low concentrations in complex water matrices. Electrified flow-through technologies are viable to overcome the limitations induced by mass transport for efficient contaminant removal. Modifying the local environment of the flow-through electrodes offers opportunities to further improve the reaction kinetics and selectivity for achieving near-complete removal of these contaminants from water. Here, we present state-of-the-art local environment modification approaches that can be incorporated into electrified flow-through technologies to intensify water treatment. We first show methods of nanospace incorporation, local geometry adjustment, and microporous structure optimization that can induce spatial confinement, enhanced local electric field, and microperiodic vortex, respectively, for local environment modification. We then discuss why local environment modification can complement the flow-through electrodes for improving the reaction rate and selectivity. Finally, we outline appropriate scenarios of intensifying electrified flow-through technologies through local environment modification for fit-for-purpose water treatment applications.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Point-of-use water treatment / Electrified membrane / Advection-enhanced mass transport / Water decontamination and disinfection / Emerging contaminants

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The Author(s) 2024. This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal.hep.com.