The Methods and Characteristics of the Electrochemical Oxidation Degradation of HMX

Octagon (HMX) is a typical organic pollutant of explosives in the surrounding environments of military factories, and it is widely regarded as a carcinogen which may enter the human body through wastewater and atmospheric exposure, resulting in potential health risks. Therefore, this paper studies the degradation of HMX by electrochemical oxidation. In this study, an electrochemical system was built using a copper plate as the cathode and a Ti/PbO2 electrode as the anode. The effects of various process variables, such as the initial pH value, the current density, and the distance between the electrodes, were investigated in relation to HMX degradation. Following this, performance optimization and intermediate analysis were carried out, along with an estimation of the energy consumption of HMX deterioration in various operating situations. The experimental results in this paper show that when the electrolyte concentration is 0.25 mol/L, the current density is 70 mA/cm2, the electrode spacing is 1.0 cm, and the initial pH is 5.0. Electrochemical oxidation has a better treatment efficiency for pollutants, and the removal rate reaches 81.2%. The findings of kinetic research reveal that the electrochemical oxidation degradation process of HMX follows quasi-first-order kinetics, and protein stress and Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) loss stress are significantly different from other stress types throughout the whole degradation process. HMX degradation solution causes damage to protein transcription or expression. However, some genes of oxidative stress are continuously up-regulated, because H2O2 and OH produced by electrochemical oxidation cause a strong response to oxidative stress in cells. The research findings in this report offer crucial guidance and suggestions for the industrialization of HMX wastewater treatment.