Electrochemical Oxidation of Methyl Parathion at a Boron-Doped Diamond Electrode

The commercial plaguicide methyl parathion (MP) is electrochemically degraded in a divided H-type cell equipped with two boron doped diamond electrodes, BDDE and a Nafion cation exchange membrane. High removals (i.e., >90%) of total organic carbon, TOC and of chemical oxygen demand, COD were obtained after 180 min at a current density,  j of 5 mA/cm² with a specific energy consumption, E_sp of ca. 200 kWh per kg of COD degraded. These results show that the anodic oxidation route may be an efficient alternative for MP degradation in polluted waters.