From the The Third Annual Australian Environmental Engineering Research Event. 23-26 November Castlemaine, Victoria 1999
ELECTROCOAGULATION AS A WASTEWATER TREATMENT
Peter Holt, Geoffrey Barton and Cynthia Mitchell Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006.
ABSTRACT
Coagulation and flocculation are traditional methods for the treatment of polluted water. Electrocoagulation presents a robust novel and innovative alternative in which a sacrificial metal anode doses water electrochemically. This has the major advantage of providing active cations required for coagulation, without increasing the salinity of the water.
Electrocoagulation is a complex process with a multitude of mechanisms operating synergistically to remove pollutants from the water. A wide variety of opinions exist in the literature for key mechanisms and reactor configurations. A lack of a systematic approach has resulted in a myriad of designs for electrocoagulation reactors without due consideration of the complexity of the system. A systematic, holistic approach is required to understand electrocoagulation and its controlling parameters. This will enable a priori prediction of the treatment of various pollutant types.
KEYWORDS
Electrocoagulation, electroflotation, wastewater treatment, sacrificial electrodes.
