Diclofenac removal at low concentrations from wastewaters by electrochemical oxidation

The aim of this paper was to apply the electrochemical oxidation on Dimensionally Stable Anodes (DSA), Ti/ RuO2-TiO2 and Ti/RuO2/SnO2-Sb2O5-RuO2, to remove pharmaceuticals at low concentrations from wastewater. Diclofenac (DCF), which is recalcitrant to biological degradation, was chosen as a pharmaceuticals model. The process was followed by recording the ultraviolet (UV) spectra and assessing the DCF concentration in the electrolyzed solutions by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) detection. The best results were obtained in the case of Ti/RuO2/SnO2- Sb2O5-RuO2 anodes.