REVIEW OF ELECTROCOAGULATION EFFICIENCY FOR THE POLLUTANTS REMOVAL FROM WATER AND WASTEWATER

摘要

Electrocoagulation (EC) may be a potential answer to environmental problems dealing with water reuse and rational waste management. The aim of this research was to assess the feasibility of EC-process for treating water and waste water taking into consideration technical and economical factors. EC-technology claims to offer efficient removal rates for most types of wastewater impurities at low power consumption and without adding any precipitating agents. Chemical coagulation is commonly used in raw water and wastewater treatment plants for the destabilization of pollutants so that they can be removed in the subsequent separation processes. The most commonly used coagulation chemicals are aluminium and iron metal salts. Electrocoagulation technology has also been proposed for the treatment of raw waters and wastewaters. With this technology, metal cations are produced on the electrodes via electrolysis and these cations form various hydroxides in the water depending on the water pH. In addition to this main reaction, several side reactions, such as hydrogen bubble formation and the reduction of metals on cathodes, also take place in the cell. In this paper, a review of the literature published in from 2008 to 2013 on topics related to electrochemical treatment within water and wastewater was presented. The review included several sections such as optimization, modeling, various wastewater treatment techniques, analytical and instrumentation, and comparison with other treatment methods.