Environ Chem Lett (2003) 1:3844

DOI 10.1007/s10311-002-0017-0

ORIGINAL PAPER

Elodie Guivarch Stephane Trevin Claude Lahitte

Mehmet A. Oturan

Degradation of azo dyes in water by Electro-Fenton process

Accepted: 9 October 2002 / Published online: 13 February 2003

Springer-Verlag 2003

Abstract The degradation of the azo dyes azobenzene, pmethyl red and methyl orange in aqueous solution at room
temperature has been studied by an advanced electrochemical oxidation process (AEOPs) under potentialcontrolled electrolysis conditions, using a Pt anode and a
carbon felt cathode. The electrochemical production of
Fentons reagent (H2O2, Fe2+) allows a controlled in situ
generation of hydroxyl radicals (OH) by simultaneous
reduction of dioxygen and ferrous ions on the carbon felt
electrode. In turn, hydroxyl radicals react with azo dyes,
thus leading to their mineralization into CO2 and H2O.
The chemical composition of the azo dyes and their
degradation products during electrolysis were monitored
by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The
following degradation products were identified: hydroquinone, 1,4-benzoquinone, pyrocatechol, 4-nitrocatechol, 1,3,5-trihydroxynitrobenzene and p-nitrophenol.
Degradation of the initial azo dyes was assessed by the
measurement of the chemical oxygen demand (COD).
Kinetic analysis of these data showed a pseudo-first order
degradation reaction for all azo dyes. A pathway of
degradation of azo dyes is proposed. Specifically, the
degradation of dyes and intermediates proceeds by
oxidation of azo bonds and aromatic ring by hydroxyl
radicals. The results display the efficiency of the ElectroFenton process to degrade organic matter.
Keywords Azo dye Fentons reagent Electro-Fenton
process Hydroxyl radicals Water treatment
Mineralization COD
E. Guivarch M. A. Oturan ())
Laboratoire des Geomateriaux, CNRS FRE 2455,
Universit de Marne La Valle,
5 Boulevard Descartes, Champs sur Marne,
77454 Marne la Valle Cedex 2, France
e-mail: oturan@univ-mlv.fr
Tel.: +33-1-49329065
S. Trevin C. Lahitte
EDF, Division Recherche et Dveloppement,
Site des Renardires, Route de Sens-Ecuelles,
77818 Moret sur Loing Cedex, France

Introduction
Color is one of the most obvious indicators of wastewater
pollution. The discharges of highly colored dye effluent
can indeed pollute the receiving water bodies. Synthetic
dyes are used extensively by several industries including
textile dyeing (60%), paper (10%) and plastic matter
(10%). The textile industry uses about 10,000 different
dyes. The worldwide annual production of dyestuffs is
over 7105 tons (Poon et al. 1999). It is estimated that 10
15% of the dye is lost in the effluent during dyeing
processes (Bandara et al. 1996). Furthermore, some azo
dyes, their precursors and a number of their reaction
products are carcinogenic (Brown and De Vito 1993).
Therefore, the treatment of the effluent containing these
compounds is important for the protection of natural
waters.
It is very difficult to successfully treat dye wastewater
using traditional biological processes (Poon et al. 1999).
Dyes are indeed refractory to microbial degradation
because of their substitution groups such as the azo, nitro
or sulpho groups (Nigam et al. 1996). In recent years,
there has been growing interest in finding better ways to
degrade those recalcitrant compounds. Several studies
have shown that oxidation of organic compounds using
Fentons reagent (H2O2, Fe2+) is efficient to degrade
organic compounds like azo dyes (Tzedakis et al. 1989;
Oturan and Pinson 1992; Chou et al. 1999; Aaron and
Oturan 2001). Fentons reagent is known as a precursor of
the hydroxyl radical .OH, a highly oxidizing agent
(Fenton 1896). The processes based on the production
and the oxidative action of hydroxyl radicals are called
"advanced oxidation processes" (AOPs). They provide a
convenient method for the treatment of undesirable
pollutants. The goal of these processes is to decrease
the strong color of the effluents and their toxicological
effects. This implies the decrease in the dye concentration
below ppm levels.
In this study, we propose the use of an indirect
electrochemical method: the Electro-Fenton process
(EFP) to degrade three azo dyes, azobenzene, methyl

39

orange and p-methyl using hydroxyl radicals produced by

Fentons reagent according to the following reaction:

High performance liquid chromatography

Fe2 H2 O2 ! Fe3 OH
 OH

The decay of azo dye concentrations was followed by a

reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC) using a Merck Lachrom system equipped with a
diode array detector (model L-7455) and fitted with a
reverse phase Purospher RP-18. 5 mm, 4.6250 mm
column from Merck. The volume of samples was 20 mL.
Runs were performed at isocratic mode. The composition
of the mobile phase was: MeOH/H2O/CH3COOH:67/21/
2 v/v for p-methyl red; CH3CN/H2O/CH3COOH:27/71/
2 v/v for methyl orange; CH3CN/H2O/CH3COOH:39/59/
2 v/v for azobenzene. Flow rate was 0.8, 0.5 and 1 mL/
min respectively. The azobenzene intermediates were
separated using the following CH3CN-H2O gradient:
vol% CH3CN (min): 10 (05), 1080 (520), 80 (20
25), 8010 (2530), 10 (3035).
Product identification was conducted by comparison of
the retention times (tR) with those of authentic standards
under the same conditions and by co-injection. The
temperature was kept constant at 40 C by an L-7350
Merck oven. Calibration curves were prepared for the
quantitative analysis of azo dyes. They were studied at
their own maximal wavelengths (see first discussion part).
Detection of the intermediates was carried out at the
maximal absorption intensity, around 260290 nm.

The Fentons reagent is generated in situ by electrochemistry. The degradation was followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses and
chemical oxygen demand (COD) measures. The results
display the efficiency of the Electro-Fenton process to
degrade azo dyes. A mineralization reaction pathway was
also proposed.

Experimental
Reagents
The azo dyes diphenyldiazene (Aldrich), 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzoic acid sodium salt (Acros) and p(p-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzosulphonic acid (Merck) and reference compounds for identification of intermediates 4-nitrocatechol and catechol (Acros), hydroquinone (Aldrich), 1,4-benzoquinone (Fluka) were used
without further purification. Methanol, acetonitrile, acetic
acid and sulfuric acid were purchased at the purest grade
(Prolabo). Potassium dichromate and ammonium iron(II)
sulfate hexahydrate (Mohr salt) Fe(NH4)2(SO4)26H2O
used for chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis were
purchased from Aldrich. Solutions were prepared with
deionized water (resistivity 18.2 MW.cm) from a Millipore Simplicity 185 system.
Electrochemical apparatus and cell
Electrolyses were performed with an EG and G Princeton
Applied Research 273A potensiostat/galvanostat and
were carried out in a cylindrical cell with three electrodes.
The working electrode was a carbon felt piece of 60 cm2
(Carbone-Lorraine). A saturated calomel electrode (SCE)
from Radiometer was used as reference electrode. The
counter electrode was a Pt sheet of 5.5 cm2 area. This
electrode was immersed in a cylindrical anodic compartment separated from the cathodic compartment by a glass
frit. The anodic compartment was filled up with 102 M
H2SO4 solution. Degradations of 110 mL of aqueous azo
dye solutions (pH 2) were monitored by potentialcontrolled electrolysis at 0.5 V/SCE in the cathodic
compartment. This potential favors the hydroxyl radicals
production (Oturan 2000). During the Electro-Fenton
process, the pH is maintained at 2 by addition of 0.1 M
H2SO4. Oxygen was bubbled through for 10 min prior to
the electrolysis to saturate the aqueous solution. 0.5 mmol/
L of ferrous iron (Fe2(SO4)3, 5H2O) was added. The
solution was stirred with a magnetic bar to achieve the
transport of electroactive matter toward the cathode.
Under these conditions, the current is kept constant
(60 mA). The electrical charge consumed was followed
by a coulometer.

Chemical oxygen demand

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements were
carried out using the French AFNOR norm. Samples were
withdrawn from the electrolysis solution at different
electrical charge intervals and were microfiltered onto a
hydrophilic membrane (Millex-GV Millipore, pore size
0.22 mm). The organic matter was oxidized by potassium
dichromate K2Cr2O7 under energetic conditions. The
temperature of the solution was raised to 170 C over
2 h. The excess of potassium dichromate was measured
out by Mohr salt titration. COD was calculated from the
expression:
CODmg O2 =L 8000  VMSblank
VMSsample
 NMS =V0

where V(MS) blank and V(MS) sample are the volumes of

standard Mohr salt solution used for the blank and the
sample respectively, N(MS) is the normality of the Mohr
salt solution, and V0 is the volume of the sample.

Results and discussion

Principles of the electrochemically assisted Fentons
reaction
The dye solution, which already contains a catalytic
amount of an iron salt, is saturated by dioxygen (air)

40

before processing. During the Electro-Fenton process, the

molecular oxygen and ferric ions are simultaneously
reduced at the cathode to generate hydrogen peroxide and
ferrous ions according to reactions (3) and (4):
O2 2e
2H ! H2 O2

Fe3 e
! Fe2

The classical Fentons reaction (1) then takes place in

solution, to generate OH radicals:
Fe2 H2 O2 ! Fe3 OH
 OH

1a

The ferrous ions produced by reaction (1) are regenerated by reaction (4). The Fentons reagent (H2O2, Fe2+)
used in this reaction is generated in situ and in a catalytic
way by electrochemistry (Brillas et al. 1995; Oturan and
Pinson 1995; Oturan 2000). Hydroxyl radicals then react
on organic compounds by three types of reactions:
hydrogen atom abstraction [reaction (5); Colonna et al.
1999], electrophilic addition on double bond [reaction (6);
Calindo et al. 2000], and electron transfer [reaction (7);
Brillas et al. 1998]:

Fig. 1 Chemical structure of azo dyes treated by the Electro Fenton

process. Azobenzene: [diphenyldiazene], l=320 nm, e=22,000,
p-methyl red; [4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo) benzoic acid],
l=465 nm, e=26,300, pKa=5.2, methyl orange; [p-(p-dimethylaminophenylazo) benzosulphonic acid], l=507 nm, e=26,900,
pKa=3.8

ions to ferrous ions (reaction 4). Oturan and Pinson (1995)

suggest the formation of H2O2 in several steps: first,
dissolved dioxygen is reduced to superoxide ion, O2
(reaction 8) which react quickly with H+ in acidic medium
to produce peroxyl radical HO2 (reaction 9):
O2 e
! O

2


O

2 H ! HO2

RH OH ! H2 O R

This radical is unstable and finally leads to the

formation of hydrogen peroxide:

PhX OH ! PhXOH

2HO2 ! H2 O2 O2

RX OH ! RX OH

However, this approach requires a permanent supply of

dioxygen. To resolve this issue, the electrolysis can be
realized in an undivided cell where dioxygen is produced
in situ by oxidation of water at the Pt anode (Hsiao and
Nobe 1993, Do and Chen 1993, Oturan and Pinson 1995).
Thus, the transport of the hazardous oxidant (H2O2)
becomes unnecessary, and the quantity of oxidant can be
precisely controlled (Do and Chen 1993; Brillas et al.
1995; Oturan 2000). The production of hydroxyl radicals
via electrochemically assisted Fentons reaction constitutes a catalytic system. The hydroxyl radical production
takes place in homogeneous solution, where they react on
the organic compounds present in the medium. Reactions
are particularly complex and depend on experimental
conditions. They take place in several steps with hydroxyl
radicals, molecular oxygen, ferrous and /or ferric ions
taking part and lead finally to the mineralization of the
initial organic compound.

In all cases, the first reaction intermediate is a radical

species. Further reactions, which occur with the participation of hydroxyl radicals, molecular oxygen, ferrous
and/or ferric ions, lead finally to the mineral end products
(Oturan et al. 2000). The Electro-Fenton process presents
the following major advantages: no addition of chemical
reagent except a catalytic quantity of ferrous ions, no
pollution displacement to another medium and complete
degradation of toxic organic pollutants.
The electrochemically assisted Fentons reaction was
used in the present work for the degradation of the azo
dyes azobenzene, p-methyl red and methyl orange (Fig. 1).
These compounds represent about 60% of azo dye
production (Zollinger 1987). They are characterized by
the presence of an azo bond (N=N) attached to two
substituents, mainly benzene and naphthalene derivatives,
containing electron withdrawing and/or donating groups.
Electrochemical generation of Fentons reagent
The Fentons reagent constitutes an efficient oxidant for a
great variety of organic substrates (Tzedakis et al. 1989;
Hsiao and Nobe 1993). The electrochemistry offers the
opportunity to produce this reagent in situ in aqueous
medium. It is sufficient to apply a low cathodic potential
(0.5 V/SCE) to the working carbon electrode to start the
production of the Fentons reagent and, consequently the
hydroxyl radicals. At this potential, two cathodic reactions take place simultaneously: reduction of dioxygen to
hydrogen peroxide (reaction 3) and reduction of ferric

10

Azo dye degradation

The Electro-Fenton process has been used to degrade
three azo dyes, azobenzene, methyl orange and p-methyl
red. Electrolyses were performed in aqueous acidic
medium (pH 23), saturated in oxygen and without any
reagent addition except ferric iron as catalyst. The
chromatographic survey by HPLC during the entire
electrolysis allowed to follow the chemical evolution of
the solution as a function of the total electrical charge
consumed. Figure 2 shows the rapid decay of the
azobenzene concentration in the aqueous solution as a

41
.

electrolysis. The current being constant (60 mA), the OH

production rate is also kept constant. As .OH is a very
reactive species, it not only accumulates in solution, but
its concentration takes a steady-state value during the
process.
dDye
kapp Dye
12
dt
where kapp=k [.OH] is the apparent pseudo-first order rate
constant (min1), k being the absolute rate constant
(L mol1 s1). This kinetic consideration is in agreement
with recent works concerning the reaction of hydroxyl
radicals with organic compounds (Bandara et al. 1996;
Lin and Lo 1997; Joseph et al. 2000). Assuming a firstorder kinetic for the degradation of azo dyes, the apparent
rate constants were determined analytically from the
slope of concentration vs. time plot in accordance with the
equation ln([Dye]/[Dye]0)=kappt. The degradation rate
constant kapp and half-life time t1/2 for azo dyes were
(kapp min1, t1/2 min): azobenzene (0.11, 6.54), methyl
orange (0.25, 2.75), p-methyl red (0.42, 1.36).
Kinetic data show that p-methyl red and methyl orange
are easier and faster to degrade by the Electro-Fenton
process than azobenzene. Indeed, the degradation rate
constants were higher in both cases (kapp=0.42 and
0.25 min1 for p-methyl red and methyl orange, respectively), than that of the azobenzene (kapp=0.11 min1).
This suggests that the removal of the aromatic ring with
amino or acetamino substituents is more pronounced.
This hypothesis is in agreement with Lagrasta et al.
(1999), who have shown that the total organic carbon
(TOC) decrease is even more marked during photomineralization for a ring substituted by an amino or actemino
group. They suggest also that aromatic rings break into
fragments, particularly those which contain dialkylamino
groups. In order to confirm the azo bond cleavage, we
tried to identify a large number of compounds which
appeared during the electrolysis.

Fig. 2 Evolution of aqueous azobenzene solution during the

Electro-Fenton treatment. Initial concentration C0=0.032 mM.
Carbon felt cathode, Eapp=0.5 V/SCE, [Fe3+]=0.5 mM, V=110 mL

function of the electrical charge passed during the

electrolysis and its complete degradation at 60 coulombs.
The p-methyl red and the methyl orange follow a more
similar concentration decrease trend than azobenzene.
Both degradation curves of methyl orange (initial concentration=0.1 mM) and p-methyl red (initial concentration=0.04 mM) follow an exponential decrease with the
electrical charge passed. The degradation of the initial
molecule is complete at 60 coulomb in both cases. Three
electrolyses were carried out with 0.5 mM ferric iron
concentration because we noted that the current efficiency
was optimal with this concentration to promote the
electrocatalytic cycle. The evolution of chemical composition and the degradation kinetics are similar for the three
dye molecules.
The dye degradation is more efficient in acidic
medium due to the better sensibility of the protonated
form for oxidation process. For all the compounds, the
color loss is visually significant for the charge consumed.
The electrophilic addition of .OH on the azo double bond
leads to its rapid breaking. The fast bleaching of the
solution and the decrease in the absorption band associated with the N=N bond corroborate this suggestion.
Detection of degradation products such as hydroquinone
confirms this hypothesis. The cleavage of the azo bond is
responsible of the chromophoric characteristic loss and
generates the formation of aromatic intermediates; other
authors confirm this tentative assumption (Joseph et al.
2000).
Our results show that the Electro-Fenton process is
efficient to degrade azo dyes in aqueous solution and to
remove solution color. In all cases, dye concentrations
decrease exponentially and quickly until total disappearance. The degradation curves show a pseudo-first order
kinetic for the hydroxylation of dye molecules by
hydroxyl radicals:
dDye
kDye OH
11
dt
In the Electro-Fenton process, the .OH formation rate
is controlled by the electrical current developed during

Degradation products
The occurrence of new HPLC peaks and a modification in
spectral range (260300 nm) indicate the formation of
new structures. The production and evolution of azobenzene degradation products were followed by liquid
chromatography during the electrolysis, using a gradient
mode to separate compounds formed. The concentration
of these intermediates increases to reach a maximum
value and then decreases until disappearance. The
formation of hydroxylated aromatic derivatives was
observed. Some degradation products formed during the
Electro-Fenton process were identified by comparison of
their HPLC retention time with those of authentic
samples: hydroquinone (tR=3.45 min, lmax=290 nm),
1,4-benzoquinone (6.47, 245), pyrocatechol (6.94,
275.7), 4-nitrocatechol (11.85, 346), 1,3,5-trihydroxynitrobenzene (14.06, 346), p-nitrophenol (14.29, 314.6).
The retention times of all degradation products were

42

lower than those of the initial molecule. During the

electrolysis, the azo dye solutions rapidly took a yellowbrown color, which increased in intensity and became
colorless again after the passage of 600 coulombs.
The spectral range 260300 nm was attributed to
multisubstituted benzene according to Feng et al. (2000)
and reduction of retention times suggests the formation of
derivatives more polar than azobenzene. Detection of
hydroxylated intermediates (p-nitrophenol, 4-nitrocatechol) suggests that aromatic intermediates are formed by
the addition of hydroxyl radicals to azo bond leading to its
breaking. Thereafter, the electrophilic addition of hydroxyl radicals to the aromatic ring takes place to form
hydroxylated derivatives, compounds more polar than
azobenzene. It was confirmed by the detection of 1,3,5trihydroxynitrobenzene, hydroquinone and pyrocatechol.
The brown color was attributed to the formation of
benzoquinone by oxidation of hydroquinone in the media.
This phenomenon was also reported by different authors
(Brillas et al. 1995; Oturan et al. 2001). The presence of
oxidation products such as phenol, quinone, catechol was
also detected by many authors (Hsiao and Nobe 1993;
Brillas et al. 1998; Oturan 2000) in the case of the
Electro-Fenton degradation of aromatic compounds. The
degradation mechanism was corroborated by other authors (Padjama and Madison 1999; Oturan et al. 2001).
The identification of degradation products permits us to
prove that the first step of azo dye degradation is the azo
bond cleavage and the second step is hydroxyl radical
addition on the aromatic ring.
Chemical oxygen demand
Chemical oxygen demand analyses were realized during
azobenzene electrolysis to show the mineralization process efficiency of the Electro-Fenton process. Electrolysis
of initial azo dye solutions leads to a gradual decrease in
chemical oxygen demand (COD) with electrical charge
and indicates the mineralization progress. Figure 3 shows
the COD decrease as a function of total charge passed
during the Electro-Fenton process for azobenzene under
conditions described in the experimental part. The COD
of the solution decreases regularly with the kinetic rate,
though slightly faster at the beginning of the electrolysis.
For the azobenzene, the mineralization yield is 80% at
5,000 coulombs. At this electrical charge, organics still in
solution are carboxylic acids, particularly acetic acid,
which resists to the degradation, but complete mineralization remains nevertheless possible.
The rate of mineralization is higher at the beginning of
electrolysis and diminishes with concentration and changes in structure. At the end of the bleaching period, the
overall aromatic compounds are converted to aliphatic
derivatives. The decrease in the degradation rate represented by the weakening of the slope (Fig. 3) can be
explained by the transformation of the aromatics into
aliphatics by ring opening reactions. This hypothesis was
also reported by Oturan et al. (2001). Due to the

Fig. 3 Electrolysis of azobenzene. Chemical oxygen demand

(COD) decay versus charge during potential controled electrolysis.
Initial concentration C0=3.5105 M. Eappl=0.5 V/SCE, [Fe3+]=
0.5 mM, V=110 mL)

inactivation of the electrophilic attack centers, aliphatic

molecules have a lower reactivity toward hydroxyl
radicals than aromatic structures. Furthermore, the decrease in degradation rate can be influenced by the
competition with the reaction (13) when the concentration
in organic matter becomes weak.


OH Fe2 ! Fe3 OH

13

The mineralization of azobenzene by oxidative reaction by hydroxyl radicals follows the equation (14):
C12 H10 N2 68 OH ! 12CO2 38H2 O 2H 2NO3 14
which is equivalent to:
C12 H10 N2 17O2 ! 12CO2 4H2 O 2HNO3

15

The COD abatement suggests that the disappearance of

the peaks on HPLC chromatograms is not only due to
their transformation into their oxidation intermediates, but
is the result of the mineralization process which takes
place during the Electro-Fenton process.
Mineralization reaction pathway
With the results obtained in this work and the examination of intermediary products identified by several
authors, we propose a general reaction mechanism for
mineralization of azo dye molecules by oxidative action
of hydroxyl radicals in the Electro-Fenton process (Fig. 4).
The degradation process seems to occur according to a
similar mechanism for all selected dyes. Detection of a
simple substituted aromatic ring such as hydroquinone
and decolorization observed in a relatively short time
confirm the hypothesis of the azo bond cleavage, which
leads to the formation of the molecules with lower
molecular weight in the first step. The second step is an
electrophilic addition of OH on the aromatic ring to form
hydroxylated derivatives such as 4-nitrocatechol, pnitophenol, pyrocatechol, 1,4 benzoquinone. Feng et al.

43

Conclusion

Fig. 4 Proposed reaction pathway for the mineralization of

azobenzene by Electro-Fenton process

(2000) and Joseph et al. (2000) have also detected some

substituted benzene and especially quinones and nitrobenzenes. The evolution of intermediates into their oxidized
compounds and decrease in the retention time (HPLC)
indicate that the last derivatives before ring opening
reactions are more and more polar (hypothesis confirmed
by compound identification). The degradation of the azo
dye was not only a break of the azo bond, but also
degradation of the aromatic rings. Chen et al. (2001) have
shown that the infrared (IR) characteristic peak of the
phenyl group disappeared after reaction with OH, proving that carboxylic intermediates were generated. Formic
acid and acetic acid are known to be the ultimate organic
by-products of aromatic ring opening reactions (Brillas et
al. 1998; Belhadj and Savall 1999; Calindo et al. 2000).
The chemical oxygen demand measurements have shown
in this study that the reaction follows an evolution by way
of a total mineralization. It is also to be mentioned that
final degradation products were mineral ions such as
NH4+, NO3, and SO42 according to the substituent
groups included in the initial molecule, as well as CO2
and H2O (Maletzky and Bauer 1998; Tanaka et al. 2000;
Joseph et al. 2000).
The general oxidation process for mineralization of
azo dyes in the Electro-Fenton process can be summarized by Eq. (16):
Cn Hm Op Nq Sr n 5q m=4
3r
p=2O2 ! nCO2 qHNO3 rH2 SO4
m
q
2r=2H2 O

16

A proposed mineralization reaction pathway for azobenzene is given in Fig. 4.

The degradation of the three azo dyes azobenzene, methyl

orange and p-methyl red by the Electro-Fenton reaction
has been studied in aqueous medium. We have shown that
the Electro-Fenton process is efficient for azo dye
degradation. It is explicitly exhibited by the concentration
decrease, color disappearance and COD decrease in azo
dye solutions under study. The degradation mechanism
begins with the azo bond cleavage and is followed by the
hydroxylation of the aromatic ring. Some degradation
products were identified: hydroquinone, 1,4-benzoquinone, pyrocatechol, nitrocatechol, 1,3,5-trihydroxynitrobenzene, p-nitrophenol. According to the experimental
results, we propose a mechanism reaction pathway for the
azobenzene mineralization.
The degradation kinetic of azo dyes follows a pseudofirst order reaction in aqueous acid media. The apparent
rate constants for degradation of azobenzene, methyl
orange and p-methyl red were determined under our
experimental conditions. The chemical oxygen demand
measurements indicate an efficient abatement (over 80%)
of organic carbon during the Electro-Fenton process.
As hydroxyl radicals are nonselective species, the
Electro-Fenton process can be generalized for the treatment of wastewater effluents containing toxic organic
pollutants. Indeed, this novel process can be considered
ecologically friendly; simple to handle and economical
since catalytic processes are involved and no chemical
reagent is needed except molecular oxygen from compressed air.
Acknowledgement This work was supported in part by EDF
(Electricit de France).

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