An Enhanced Electrocoagulation Process for the Removal of Fe and Mn from Municipal Wastewater Using Dielectrophoresis (DEP)

Abstract

In this study the removal of Fe and Mn from primary treated municipal wastewater using a new electrode configuration in electrocoagulation was evaluated. The used electrode configuration induced a dielectrophoretic (DEP) force in the electrocoagulation process. The impact of the electrolysis time, electrodes spacing and applied current on the removal of Fe and Mn was evaluated. The maximum removal percentages of Fe and Mn were obtained using an electrolysis time of 60 min, an electrode spacing of 0.5 cm and an applied current of 800 mA. Under these operating conditions and using the new electrodes configuration, the Fe and Mn removals were 96.8% and 66%, respectively. The main advantage of using the DEP-induced electrode configuration was the minimal consumption of the electrodes. The new electrode configuration showed 42% less aluminum content in the reactor compared to the aluminum electrodes with no DEP effect. The energy consumption at the selected operation conditions was 4.88 kWh/m3. The experimental results were comparable with the simulation results achieved by the COMSOL software.

Keywords

• dielectrophoresis
• electrocoagulation
• heavy metal
• municipal wastewater