ELECTROCOAGULATION IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Abstract

Within the past decades,water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges faced by humans, sothe treatment and reuse of wastewater generated daily from household, sanitary and industrial activities iswidely practiced and encouraged.Electrocoagulation has emerged as an effectivetechnology for the treatment ofdifferent categories of wastewater. The electrode materials should non-toxic to human health and environment and these usually involve aluminium or iron, but new materials are also used.The efficiency of electrocoagulation depends on current density, gap between anodes and cathodes, electrodes arrangement, composition and shape, initial pollutant concentration, composition and pH of the solution, electrolysis time.This paper aims to reviewthe mechanisms involved in wastewater electrocoagulationand the results of electrocoagulation applied in the treatment of wastewater from different sources.