“…Our previous study has shortened the start-up time of the coagulation process by introducing a reactive oxidant (permanganate, PM), which could react rapidly with Fe(II) derived from the iron anode. In fact, it is common practice to enhance Fe-based coagulation by introducing PM, which is roughly attributed to the production of flocculation nuclei (manganese dioxide, MnO 2 ). − Moreover, during the complex redox reactions between the in situ formed Fe/Mn-based intermediates, inorganic- or organic-contaminants are removed through multiple pathways, such as adsorption, oxidation, co-precipitation, and so forth. ,− Despite this, the in-depth mechanism by which PM optimizes Fe-based coagulation or even EC has rarely been explored till date. Returning to the ECUF process, it is reported that the compact ECUF process outperformed the split EC-UF process in terms of membrane fouling control. , This was ascribed to the fact that from the macroscopic perspective, both the EC process and the electric field modulated the polarity and porosity of the cake layer, respectively. , Based on the ECUF process, the upgraded permanganate-bearing ECUF (PECUF) process was subsequently proposed due to its lower membrane fouling tendency, and higher working capacities, such as higher permeate flux, more effective contaminant removal, minimal secondary pollution, , and so forth.…”