Liu Y.-JHuang Y.-LLo S.-LHu C.-Y.SHANG-LIEN LO2021-08-052021-08-05202020734441https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090285878&doi=10.3390%2fW12092332&partnerID=40&md5=fad061f54862232471a5ffdf2ca01040https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/577029Considering the lack of information on simultaneously removing multiple pharmaceuticals from water or wastewater by electrochemical methods, this study aimed to investigate the removal of multiple pharmaceuticals by electro-coagulation and electro-oxidation based on two types of electrodes (aluminum and graphite). The synthetic wastewater contained a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (diclofenac), a sulfonamide antibiotic (sulfamethoxazole) and a ?-blocker (atenolol). The pharmaceutical removal with electro-oxidation was much higher than those with the electro-coagulation process, which was obtained from a five-cell graphite electrode system, while the removal of pharmaceuticals with aluminum electrodes was about 20% (20 μM). In the electro-coagulation system, pharmaceutical removal was mainly influenced by the solubility or hydrophilicity of the compound. In the electro-oxidation system, the removal mechanism was influenced by the dissociation status of the compounds, which are attracted to the anode due to electrostatic forces and have a higher mass transformation rate with the electro-oxidation process. Therefore, atenolol, which was undissociated, cannot adequately be eliminated by electro-oxidation, unless the electrode's surface is large enough to increase the mass diffusion rate. ? 2020 by the authors.Aluminum; Antibiotics; Coagulation; Electrooxidation; Graphite; Graphite electrodes; Hydrophilicity; Oxidation; Sulfur compounds; Aluminum electrodes; Electro coagulations; Electro-oxidation process; ELectrochemical methods; Mass transformation; Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Sulfonamide antibiotics; Synthetic waste water; Electrochemical electrodes; drug; electrochemical method; electrode; graphite; oxidation; pollutant removal; wastewater; water treatment[SDGs]SDG11journal article10.3390/W120923322-s2.0-85090285878