Removal of Cu²⁺ and Cd²⁺, and humic acid and phenol by electrocoagulation using iron electrodes

Abstract

This work concerns the plotting current intensity I (A) vs. applied voltage E (V) curves of electrocoagulation (EC) of some organic (humic acid (HA) and phenol) and inorganic (copper sulphate and cadmium chloride) compounds which are often found in water/wastewaters. The study is conducted in batch mode using Fe electrodes at laboratory scale. The device is constituted with two ordinary steel electrodes with active area S = 19.95 cm² and 4 cm as separation from each other in a 500 mL beaker which is filled with 500 mL solution to treat. The applied voltage is 12 V for 45 min as EC time and an optimal pH which is determined from current intensity I (A) as a function of applied voltage E (V) curves. Depending on the pollutant type, different EC process mechanisms are proposed and less or more important reduction levels are achieved in these experiments.

Keywords:

• Electrocoagulation (EC)
• Humic acid (HA)
• Phenol
• Copper
• Cadmium
• Iron