Electrode Materials Comparison for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater Electrolysis of Spiked Secondary Effluent

Publication data
Type	Paper
Title	Electrode Materials Comparison for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater Electrolysis of Spiked Secondary Effluent
Description
Authors
Year	2024
Language	English (en)
Location	Canada
License	CC-BY-SA-4.0
Cite as	Antonini, G.; Ordonez-Loza, J.; Mathew, J.; Cullen, J.; Muller, C.; Al-Omari, A.; Bell, K.; Santoro, D.; Pearce, J.M. Electrode Materials Comparison for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater Electrolysis of Spiked Secondary Effluent. Sustainability 2025, 17, 3988. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093988 academia open access

Electrochemical methods show promise for wastewater treatment by removing pollutants, recovering nutrients, and generating hydrogen. To scale this technology, durable and affordable electrode materials are needed. This study evaluates aluminum 6061-T6, titanium grade II, ductile iron, and magnesium to understand their performance in promoting precipitation, gas production, and treating wastewater under several conditions. Electrodes were tested with ammonia-, magnesium-, and phosphate-spiked wastewater samples with induced precipitation at concentrations of 0.033 mol/L and 0.0033 mol/L; the liquid, gas, and precipitation phases were characterized. The results showed up to 35% reduction in ammonia, total phosphate recovery, and up to 70% reduction in magnesium. The cell generates hydrogen with purity levels of 95.6%, 96.1%, 87.9%, and 93.5% when utilizing iron, aluminum, titanium, and magnesium electrodes, respectively. The analyses of precipitants showed formation of vivianite crystals from iron, struvite precipitation from magnesium, and berlinite from aluminum. Overall, these results hold substantial promise for hydrogen generation from wastewater and potential for nutrient recovery and treatment.

Keywords

wastewater treatment; electrolysis; electrode materials; nutrient recovery; hydrogen production; advanced electrodes, environmental sustainability, electrochemical nutrient removal, nutrient removal (N, P), wastewater treatment physicochemical properties, drinking water safety; water pollution

Page data
Part of	FAST Completed
Keywords	wastewater treatment, electrolysis, electrode materials, nutrient recovery, hydrogen production, advanced electrodes, environmental sustainability, electrochemical nutrient removal, nutrient removal (N, P), wastewater treatment physicochemical properties, drinking water safety; water pollution
SDG	SDG06 Clean water and sanitation
Authors	Giorgio Antonini, Javier Ordonez-Loza, Jithin Mathew, Joshua Cullen, Christopher Muller, Ahmed Al-Omari, Katherine Bell, Domenico Santoro, and Joshua M. Pearce
License	CC-BY-SA-4.0
Organizations	FAST, Western University, ICFAR
Language	English (en)
Related	0 subpages, 20 pages link here
Views	15 page views (analytics)
Created	April 29, 2025 by Joshua M. Pearce
Last edit	January 9, 2026 by MetadescriptionsBot
Cite as	Giorgio Antonini, Javier Ordonez-Loza, Jithin Mathew, Joshua Cullen, Christopher Muller, Ahmed Al-Omari, Katherine Bell, Domenico Santoro, and Joshua M. Pearce (2025–2026). "Electrode Materials Comparison for Hydrogen Production from Wastewater Electrolysis of Spiked Secondary Effluent". Appropedia. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
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