Effect of operational parameters on heavy metal removal by electrocoagulation

Abstract

In the present paper, the performance of electrocoagulation (EC) for the treatability of mixed metals (chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn)) from metal plating industrial wastewater (EPW) has been investigated. The study mainly focused on the affecting parameters of EC process, such as electrode material, initial pH, distance between electrodes, electrode size, and applied voltage. The pH 8 is observed to be the best for metal removal. Fe-Fe electrode pair with 1-cm inter-electrode distance and electrode surface area of 40 cm(2) at an applied voltage of 8 V is observed to more efficient in the metal removal. Experiments have shown that the maximum removal percentage of the metals like Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, and Pb are reported to be 96.2, 96.4, 99.9, 98, and 99.5 %, respectively, at a reaction time of 30 min. Under optimum conditions, the energy consumption is observed to be 51.40 kWh/m(3). The method is observed to be very effective in the removal of metals from electroplating effluent.

Removal of Manganese Ions (Mn2+) from a Simulated Wastewater by Electrocoagulation/ Electroflotation Technologies with Stainless Steel Mesh Electrodes: Process Optimization Based on Taguchi Approach

“…Also, the smallest colloidal particles can be removed by this technique due to the fast motion resulted from the applied electric field that facilitating the coagulation [4], [14], [15]. The high effectiveness of the EC process in the elimination of heavy metal ions from industrial/synthesis wastewater has been proved by several studies [5], [16]- [19]. Electrocoagulation/Electroflotation (ECF) is an electrochemical process in which the wastewater would be subjected to a direct current (DC) field.…”

Electro-dissolution of metal scrap anodes for nickel ion removal from metal finishing effluent

“…Considering these variant parameters, it may be of benefit to construe that performance of iron and aluminium scrap anodes for nickel ion removal from electroplating effluent by electro-coagulation is more or less the same. These scrap anodes are found to exhibit comparable performance than a majority of sacrificial anodes reported elsewhere [18][19][20][21]. This may be due to loose internal bonding and spongy surface morphology of used metal scrap, which renders a high active surface area and porosity, as elucidated in the SEM images.…”

Metal Removal and Recovery from Mining Wastewater and E-Waste Leachate

“…In terms of metals removal, there are many studies that have focused on understanding the effects of operational parameters and optimization of the processes. Examples of process parameters are pH, material and distance between the electrodes, initial metal concentration, coagulation time and current density (Bhagawan et al, 2014;Senturk, 2013;Shafaei et al, 2011). Heidmann and Calmano (2008) reported that higher initial concentrations of Cr (VI) showed higher removal rate for Cr (VI), while the removal rate of Au, Cu, Ni and Zn was not affected by this parameter.…”