Recent advances in electrochemical nitrate removal technology in water

: Nitrate pollution has become a key environmental concern in China and World. The accumulation of nitrate in the water environment poses a great danger to human health, and it is important to develop technologies for efficient nitrate removal from water. Electrochemical nitrate reduction technology has outstanding advantages and wide application prospects because of its ability to selectively convert nitrate to N 2 and thus reduce the total nitrogen concentration in water. During the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction, the catalytic performance of catalysts determines the reaction rate and product selectivity, and the design and development of efficient catalysts are key in the field of nitrate reduction and are developing rapidly, but there is still a lack of review reports on the design and synthesis strategies of novel catalysts. In this paper, the latest research progress of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction catalysts and high-performance reaction systems are summarized, and the mechanism of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction and the synthesis strategy of high efficiency electrocatalysts are discussed with the latest research examples. Furthermore, the design of electrochemical denitrification systems is discussed in terms of the selection of cathode materials, the synergistic electrocatalytic reaction of cathodes and anodes, and the design of reactors, aiming to promote the nitrate electroreduction technology from ″laboratory″ to ″practical application″. Finally, the future direction and research focus of electrochemical nitrate removal from water bodies are discussed from the perspective of engineering practice.