Improved Electrocoagulation Reactor for Rapid Removal of Phosphate from Wastewater

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• 作者：Yushi Tian ; Weihua He ; Xiuping Zhu ; Wulin Yang ; Nanqi Ren ; Bruce E. Logan
• 刊名：ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 3, 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：5
• 期：1
• 页码：67-71
• 全文大小：322K
• ISSN：2168-0485

文摘

A new three-electrode electrocoagulation reactor was investigated to increase the rate of removal of phosphate from domestic wastewater. Initially, two electrodes (graphite plate and air cathode) were connected with 0.5 V of voltage applied for a short charging time (∼10 s). The direction of the electric field was then reversed, by switching the power supply lead from the anode to the cathode, and connecting the other lead to a sacrificial aluminum mesh anode for removal of phosphate by electrocoagulation. The performance of this process, called a reverse-electric field, air cathode electrocoagulation (REAEC) reactor, was tested using domestic wastewater as a function of charging time and electrocoagulation time. REAEC wastewater treatment removed up to 98% of phosphate in 15 min (inert electrode working time of 10 s, current density of 1 mA/cm², and 15 min total electrocoagulation time), which was 6% higher than that of the control (no inert electrode). The energy demand varied from 0.05 kWh/m³ for 85% removal in 5 min, to 0.14 kwh/m³ for 98% removal in 15 min. These results indicate that the REAEC can reduce the energy demands and treatment times compared to conventional electrocoagulation processes for phosphate removal from wastewater.