Oxidación electroquímica: Una alternativa para el tratamiento de aguas con contaminantes orgánicos [Electrochemical oxidation: an alternative for the wastewater treatment with organic pollutants agents]

The intensification of industrial activities since the second half of the 19th century and during all the 20th century has inevitably caused severe environmental pollution with dramatic consequences in atmosphere, waters, and soils. The consequent restrictions imposed by new legislations require effective initiatives for pollution abatement not only in gaseous emissions and industrial aqueous effluents, but also adequate decontamination in soils. The remediation of industrial wastewater containing organic pollutants can be carried out by different methods, including incineration, adsorption, biological treatment, chemical, photochemical and electrochemical oxidation processes. However, the kind of treatment depends of physical and chemical factors, as well as reliability, control, economics and treatment efficiency. The electrochemical oxidation process can be considered as an alternative by wastewater treatment because it promises versatility, environmental compatibility and potential cost effectiveness for the degradation of different organic pollutants.