The demand for H2O2, a highly efficient and green disinfectant, has been increasing worldwide in recent years. However, the conventional processes for H2O2 production are either energy-intensive or have high environmental impact. Herein, we propose an innovative bio-solar hybrid photoelectrochemical synthesis (BSPS) system that couples microbial photoelectrochemical synthesis and polyterthiophene (pTTh)-based photocatalysis for efficient and selective synthesis of green H2O2. The impact of key operational factors such as the applied voltage, pH, aeration rate, light intensity, thickness of the pTTh catalytic layer, and electrolyte nature and concentrations on H2O2 synthesis was assessed. The BSPS system yielded a cumulative production of 232.5 mg L−1 of H2O2 in 12 h under LED light irradiation, which is 6.1-fold the yield using a typical graphite plate electrode and 7.8-fold the yield when the system was run in darkness. Moreover, the BSPS system was successfully tested under natural illumination from sunlight for efficient synthesis of H2O2. Finally, a tertiary treatment process by further combining the BSPS system with the Fenton reaction enabled the rapid and complete removal of twenty micropollutants in wastewater. This work introduces an innovative and sustainable energy recycling strategy enabling H2O2 generation and subsequent efficient tertiary wastewater treatment.
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