Coupled treatment of aniline and phenol in water by electrochemical copolymerization

Anilines and phenols are recognized as challenging organic pollutants in industrial wastewater. Herein, the coupled treatment of aniline and phenol in water was achieved through electrochemical oxidation-induced copolymerization. After the electrolysis (1,300 mA for 10 h) in the solution of aniline and phenol (200 mL, each at a concentration of 5 g/L), the organic compounds were efficiently precipitated from their mixed solution by copolymerization. These insoluble copolymers could be easily separated by filtration and collected as brown powders, and the average removal rate of aniline and phenol was calculated as 0.6 mol/h m2 in this coupled electrolysis. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) test of the filtrates showed that it reached up to 98% of the COD removal ratio. Moreover, mixed solutions containing multiple aniline and phenol derivatives were also applicable for this coupled treatment strategy, and they were efficiently removed together after electrolysis.