Activated carbon has broad application prospects for treating pollutants due to its easy availability, low cost and good adsorption. In our work, nano-activated carbons (NAC) with abundant functional groups are obtained by the oxidation modification of HNO3, ( NH4)2S2O8, and KMnO4, which are used to construct the particle electrodes to degrade NDEA in a continuous flow electrochemical reactor, and the influence of relevant factors on the performance of NDEA removal is discussed. The experimental data show that the optimal degradation efficiency is 42.55% at the conditions of 3 mL/min influent water flow, 0.21 M electrolyte concentration, 10 mA/cm2 current density, and 10 μg/mL initial NDEA concentration. The degradation of NDEA conforms to a quasi second order kinetic equation. The electrocatalytic mechanism of NAC electrodes for removing NDEA is firstly discussed. The effects of different free radicals on the degradation of NDEA are also demonstrated through free radical quenching experiments, indicating that the degradation of NDEA is dominated by ⋅OH. The degradation pathway of NDEA and final products are obtained using GC–MS. NAC particle electrodes as the cheap and efficient electrocatalyst in continuous flow electrochemical reactor system provide a greener solution for the removal of disinfection by-products from drinking water.

The modification of nano-activated carbon used to construct particle electrodes and its application in degradation of nitrosodiethylamine
    Abstract
    1 Introduction
    2 Experimental
        2.1 Preparation of NAC particle electrodes
        2.2 Characteristics of NAC
        2.3 Three-dimensional-NAC device and operation
        2.4 Analysis methods
        2.5 Electrocatalytic oxidation of NDEA
    3 Results and discussion
        3.1 Characterization of NAC
        3.2 The comparison between 3D-NAC and 2D plate systems
        3.3 Single-factor experiments
            3.3.1 Inlet water flow
            3.3.2 Electrolyte concentration
            3.3.3 Current density
            3.3.4 Initial NDEA concentration
        3.4 Stability of the particle electrodes
        3.5 Free radical quenching experiment
        3.6 Kinetic analysis of adsorption and degradation for NDEA pollutants
        3.7 Degradation mechanism of NDEA in 3D-NAC system
    4 Conclusions
    Acknowledgements 
    References

• Liyan Ma(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Fengyi Sun(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Zhuwu Jiang(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Hongcheng Di(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Chuntao Pan(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Fengying Zhang(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Xue Bai(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China)
• Hongyu Zhang(School of Ecological Environment and Urban Construction, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou 350118, Fujian, China) Corresponding author