The invention refers to an electrochemical equipment (10, 10', 10", 10"', 10"") for the treatment of water contaminated by oxidizable pollutants (such as
petroleum hydrocarbons and derivatives, herbicides, pesticides, PFAS and the like), reducible pollutants (such as halogenated organic solvents,
perchlorate,
nitrate and the like) and / or mixtures thereof. The equipment comprises an
anode (1, 1', 1", 1'", 1"") and a
cathode (2, 2', 2'", 2"", 2""), jointly referred to as electrodes (1, 1', 1", 1'", 1""; 2, 2', 2", 2"", 2""); the equipment also comprises a
voltage or
current generator (3, 3', 3", 3'", 3"") and a non- conductive separator (4, 4', 4'", 4"", 4"") placed between the electrodes. The
anode (1, 1', 1", 1'", 1"") is preferably made of
titanium coated with mixed oxides (preferably, Jr and Ru) and the
cathode (2, 2', 2'", 2'", 2"") is preferably made of carbon material in granular form (preferably chosen from
graphite,
activated carbon and
biochar) mixed with
ferrous material (preferably chosen from zero-valent iron of millimetric dimensions and iron colloidal suspensions). According to the preferred embodiment of the invention,
anode (1, 1') and
cathode (2, 2') are concentrically arranged; according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, anode (1") and cathode (2") are made in superimposed modules. The invention also refers to a method that provides that, by applying a
voltage (preferably between 0 V and 220 V, more preferably between 1 V and 20 V) or a current (preferably between 0 A and 50 A, more preferably between 0 A and 5 A) between the electrodes, Fenton reagents (i.e., H2O2 and Fe2+ ions) are generated in-situ, said reagents being able of completely oxidizing the pollutants contained in the water to be treated; furthermore, the
ferrous material present in the cathode allows the simultaneous
chemical reduction (i.e., reductive dehalogenation) of the substances contained in the water. Advantageously, the invention allows to treat waters polluted by toxic and recalcitrant substances without the need to continuously supply from the outside chemical conditioners (such as
hydrogen peroxide or other chemical oxidants, iron, air,
oxygen and the like). The invention is preferably and advantageously applied for the remediation of contaminated sites and for the treatment of
wastewater; the invention is advantageously used both inside wells, piezometers or boreholes and in devices, pipes or reactors, in plug-in configuration.