biodegradation wet oxidation [7], ozone treatment [8], membrane bioreactor [9]
and ceramic membrane filtration [10]. However, these techniques were
not suitable to treat heavily contaminated water with chemical oxygen
demand (COD) concentration over 4000 mg L−1. So there is an urgent
need to develop advanced techniques to remove nonbiodegradable
organic substances from petroleum refinery wastewater.
Electrochemical technology has been attracting great attention for
treatment of wastewater, as reported in several books and reviews
[11–15]. It offers many distinctive advantages such as versatility, high
energy efficiency, safety, amenability of automation, and cost effectiveness
because the main reagent is the electron [16]. However, traditional
electrochemical methods such as electrocoagulation, electroflotation,
electroflocculation, electrochemical reduction and electrochlorination
can only partially remove persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and/or
produce undesirable and harmful byproducts [16]. Furthermore, the
Fenton method is the most popular chemical advanced oxidation process
(AOPs) and has also been successfully used to degrade organic molecules
from wastewater over the past decade [16]. In a conventional