A Cu/Polypyrrole-Coated Stainless Steel Mesh Membrane Cathode for Highly Efficient Electrocoagulation-Coupling Anti-Fouling Membrane Filtration

Membrane filtration fouling has become a significant issue that restricts its wide application. The electrocoagulation (EC) technique combines variety of synergistic pollutant removal technologies (including flocculation, redox, and air flotation), which can be an ideal pretreatment process for membrane filtration. In this work, novel Cu2+-doped polypyrrole-coated stainless steel mesh (Cu/PPy–SSM) was prepared by direct current electrodeposition, it introduced in electrocoagulation-membrane reactor (ECMR) to construct EC–membrane coupling system. Cu/PPy–SSM applied as the cathode, while aluminum plate used anode ECMR. ECMR enabled excellent humic acid (HA) performance could effectively mitigate Cu/PPy–SSM. Its attributed following: (1) repel negatively charged pollutants under electric field; (2) cathodic hydrogen gas produced on restrains compacting cake layer delays degradation flux; (3) resultant porous loose structure perform dynamic membrane, promote separation improved HA rate 92.77%, membrane-specific flux stabilized at more than 86%. Response surface methodology (RSM) optimize operation parameters ECMR, predicted reached 93.01%. Both experimental results modelled predictions show using cathode lead