Heterogeneous electro-Fenton catalysis with self-supporting CFP@MnO2-Fe3O4/C cathode for shale gas fracturing flowback wastewater.

Abstract Self-supporting electrodes have triggered great interests in improving electro-Fenton (EF) system for degradation of refractory organic pollutants. In this work, a novel self-supporting carbon fiber paper (CFP) electrode modified by transition metals, e.g. Fe and Mn, was fabricated and employed as a heterogeneous EF cathode. The prepared electrode exhibited excellent degradation for a number of typical organic pollutants along with superior stability. Remarkably, a high removal efficiency was achieved in the EF treatment of shale gas fracturing flowback wastewater. Results indicated that 65.2% TOC and 74.8% COD were eliminated after 4 h degradation. The residual COD value of the real wastewater was 80 mg L−1, meeting the emission requirement of the integrated wastewater discharge standard (COD ＜ 100 mg L−1) with a low specific energy consumption of 6.9 kWh kg−1 COD−1. This work demonstrates a competing alternative for efficient decontamination of real wastewater using an electro-Fenton strategy with a low-cost electrode.