Comparative Study on the Treatment of Berberine Wastewater by Chemical- and Electro-Coagulation Processes: Zeta Potential Analysis

Abstract

The comparative study on treating the berberine pharmaceutical wastewater by chemical-coagulation and electro-coagulation was carried out, and the Zeta potential, ζ was analyzed to reveal the coagulation mechanisms. The results indicated that electro-coagulation and pulse electro-coagulation could be more effective than traditional chemical-coagulation for berberine removal from wastewater: the removal efficiencies of electro-coagulation and pulse electro-coagulation processes reached above 87.6%, while the removal efficiencies were lower than 35% for the PFS and PAC coagulations. The ζ potential analysis revealed that charge neutralization was the main mechanisms for berberine removal.

Removal of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) by electrocoagulation–flotation with a cationic surfactant

“…This method has also been successfully applied to treat wastewater containing such pharmaceuticals as salicylic acid [27], 4 berberine hydrochloride [28,29], and some antibiotics [30]. Chou et al indicated that over 80% of salicylic acid compounds were removed with aluminum electrodes [27].…”

“…The main removal mechanisms for these pharmaceuticals by EC should be adsorption [27] and charge neutralization [29]. The target compounds of this study are NSAIDs, which are acidic in nature.…”