Removal of Sulfate and Iron from a Water Solution Using a New Flow Pattern in an Electrocoagulation Reactor

Abstract

This research examines the application of electrocoagulation (EC) by employing two water sources: river water and rejected water from a reverse osmosis system. To assess the impact of numerous factors on the removal efficiency of sulfate and iron, continuous flow experiments were conducted using bipolar and monopolar aluminum electrodes. The parameters studied included the number of electrodes (2, and 4) and flow rates (600, and 1000 L/h). The experimental findings revealed that increasing the number of electrodes improved the removal efficiency. Conversely, an increase in flow rate resulted in a decrease in removal efficiency for both water sources. For concentrated water, the best sulfate removal reached 47% (for four plates with 600L/h), whereas for the river, the highest sulfate removal was 50% (for four plates and a flow rate of 1000 L/h). For river water samples, the best iron removal was 56% (for four plates and 600L/h), whereas for concentrated water samples, the most significant removal was 79% (for four plates and 600L/h).