Optimization of electrocoagulation operating parameters and reactor design for zinc removal: application to industrial Tunisian wastewater

AbstractThis study was carried out to investigate the effect of the electrocoagulation reactor design parameters in the removal of zinc from water. In order to optimize experimental electrocoagulation reactor parameters such as inter electrode distance (die), electrode connection mode, surface-area-to-volume ratio (S/V), and the initial temperature of the solution (T), many electrocoagulation tests were performed using aluminum electrodes. The obtained experimental results showed that optimal zinc removal was achieved with a distance between electrodes of 0.5 cm, a bipolar connection mode, the surface-area-to-volume ratio (S/V) of 13.6 m−1, and for an initial temperature (T) of 50°C. The application of these results on the treatment of a sulfuric acid and superphosphate manufacturing industry wastewater made it possible to achieve a total zinc removal in five minutes of electrolysis time.

[1]  Guohua Chen,et al.  Separation of pollutants from restaurant wastewater by electrocoagulation , 2000 .

[2]  Mahmut Bayramoglu,et al.  Treatment of the textile wastewater by electrocoagulation Economical evaluation , 2007 .

[3]  P. Cañizares,et al.  Coagulation and electrocoagulation of wastes polluted with dyes. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[4]  R. Bejankiwar.  Electrochemical treatment of cigarette industry wastewater: feasibility study. , 2002, Water Research.

[5]  Konstantinos Dermentzis,et al.  Removal of nickel from electroplating rinse waters using electrostatic shielding electrodialysis/electrodeionization. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[6]  Kuen-Song Lin,et al.  Sludge conditioning characteristics of copper chemical mechanical polishing wastewaters treated by electrocoagulation. , 2006, Journal of hazardous materials.

[7]  S. Vasudevan,et al.  Effects of alternating and direct current in electrocoagulation process on the removal of cadmium from water – A novel approach , 2011 .

[8]  P. Jaouen,et al.  Treatment by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis of high salinity drilling water for seafood washing and processing Abstract , 2008 .

[9]  N Daneshvar,et al.  Decolorization of basic dye solutions by electrocoagulation: an investigation of the effect of operational parameters. , 2006, Journal of hazardous materials.

[10]  N. Modirshahla,et al.  Investigation of the effect of different electrodes and their connections on the removal efficiency of 4-nitrophenol from aqueous solution by electrocoagulation. , 2008, Journal of hazardous materials.

[11]  M Y Mollah,et al.  Electrocoagulation (EC)--science and applications. , 2001, Journal of hazardous materials.

[12]  E. Valsamidou,et al.  Removal of nickel, copper, zinc and chromium from synthetic and industrial wastewater by electrocoagulation , 2011 .

[13]  J. Blais,et al.  Removal of metals in leachate from sewage sludge using electrochemical technology , 2004, Environmental technology.

[14]  Alireza Mesdaghinia,et al.  Algae Removal by Electro-coagulation Process, Application for Treatment of the Effluent from an Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant , 2007 .

[15]  Hakim Lounici,et al.  Defluoridation of septentrional Sahara water of north Africa by electrocoagulation process using bipolar aluminium electrodes , 1998 .

[16]  V. Sivakumar,et al.  Optimization of electrocoagulation process to treat biologically pretreated bagasse effluent , 2014 .

[17]  A. Kellil,et al.  Electrocoagulation of a raw water of Ghrib Dam (Algeria) in batch using aluminium and iron electrodes , 2010 .

[18]  Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan,et al.  PHYSICO-CHEMICAL TREATMENT TECHNIQUES FOR WASTEWATER LADEN WITH HEAVY METALS , 2006 .

[19]  G. Huang,et al.  Hardness, COD and turbidity removals from produced water by electrocoagulation pretreatment prior to Reverse Osmosis membranes , 2014 .

[20]  Sanjeev Chaudhari,et al.  Removal of arsenic from water by electrocoagulation. , 2004, Chemosphere.

[21]  M. K. Rofouei,et al.  An investigation on the new operational parameter effective in Cr(VI) removal efficiency: a study on electrocoagulation by alternating pulse current. , 2011, Journal of hazardous materials.

[22]  J.P.F. Koren,et al.  State-of-the-art electroflocculation , 1995 .

[23]  J. Blais,et al.  Electrolytic recovery of lead in used lime leachate from municipal waste incinerator. , 2005, Journal of hazardous materials.

[24]  E. Robens,et al.  Selective removal of the heavy metal ions from waters and industrial wastewaters by ion-exchange method. , 2004, Chemosphere.

[25]  D. Ghosh,et al.  Removal of Fe(II) from tap water by electrocoagulation technique. , 2008, Journal of hazardous materials.

[26]  A. Nayak,et al.  Adsorption studies on the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution using a low cost fertilizer industry waste material. , 2010, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[27]  M. Litter,et al.  Photocatalytic removal of Pb(II) over TiO2 and Pt–TiO2 powders , 2007 .

[28]  B. Hamrouni,et al.  Boron Removal by Electrocoagulation Using Full Factorial Design , 2013 .

[29]  N. Bellakhal,et al.  Electrocoagulation treatment of black liquor from paper industry. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[30]  Elimame Elaloui,et al.  Adsorption of zinc by a Tunisian Smectite through a filtration membrane , 2013 .

[31]  M. Sivakumar,et al.  An empirical model for defluoridation by batch monopolar electrocoagulation/flotation (ECF) process. , 2006, Journal of hazardous materials.

[32]  Guohua Chen.  Electrochemical technologies in wastewater treatment , 2004 .