Rahul Kar
Independent Researcher
India
Abstract
Electrocoagulation (EC) has emerged as a promising physicochemical method for removal of pollutants from industrial and municipal wastewaters. Utilizing sacrificial anodes (typically iron or aluminum), EC generates coagulant species in situ, destabilizing colloidal particles and promoting floc formation. This study presents a comprehensive investigation of EC performance on synthetic wastewater containing dyes, heavy metals, and turbidity under conditions available up to 2015, including assessments of current density, pH, electrode material, and supporting electrolyte concentration. Statistical analysis of removal efficiencies was performed using one-way ANOVA. Results demonstrate that optimum removal (> 90 %) of turbidity and 80 % of heavy metals is achievable at current densities of 15 mA/cm² and pH 7.0. Key research gaps include long-term electrode passivation, energy consumption modeling, and scale-up challenges. The findings contribute to engineering design guidelines for EC reactors in compliance with technologies and knowledge as of 2015.
Keywords Electrocoagulation, heavy metals, dyes, current density, electrode material, pH
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