Wastewater Treatment Using Electrocoagulation: Review

Abstract

Due to its versatility, ease of setup, low footprint, and eco-friendliness, electrocoagulation (EC) is a prominent wastewater treatment alternative that has been extensively researched for a wide range of wastewater types. The following hybrid EC processes are currently being researched: EC-adsorption, EC-peroxidation, ECchemical coagulation (CC), photovoltaic EC, and EC-membrane. The hybrid EC-membrane process undisputedly stands out as the future of wastewater treatment due to its overall low carbon footprint requirement, environmental sustainability, and strong potential for continuous operation without the necessity of extensive control. The efficiency of electrocoagulation is affected by current density, anode-cathode gap, electrode arrangement, composition, and shape; initial pollutant concentration; solution composition and pH; and electrolysis time. The dramatic rise in urbanization and industrialization has significantly increased the amount and variety of waste, particularly wastewater, generated. Wastewater contains a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants. Various wastewater treatment technologies have been developed. It has taken several decades to tackle the increasing concern regarding effective pollutant removal from wastewater. Electrocoagulation (EC) is one such broad-based, highly reliable, and cost-effective technology. Additionally, it boasts a high pollutant extraction efficiency and produces less sludge than other techniques. Despite being used effectively to treat a wide range of wastewater, a thorough examination of its efficiency under various process variables has not been critically analyzed.