No abstract

Mineralization of aniline in acidic solution (pH 3.0) has been studied using an undivided cell with a carbon‐polytetrafluoroethylene O2‐normalfed cathode which continuously electrogenerates H2O2 operating at constant current. A normalTi/normalPt/PbO2 electrode or a Pt sheet was employed as the anode. While anodic destruction of aniline yields poor mineralization, addition of iron(II) to the solution causes a notable increase in its mineralization rate. In the so‐called electro‐Fenton process, the main oxidizing agent is OH⋅ which can be produced at the anode reaction layer by oxidation of water and also in the bulk solution via Fenton's reaction between Fe2+ and electrogenerated H2O2 . A faster and complete mineralization of the pollutant in the presence of iron(II) can be easily achieved by the photoelectro‐Fenton process in which the solution is irradiated with UV light of λmax = 360 nm during electrolysis. The reactions involved in these processes are discussed.