A novel combined electrochemical-magnetic method for water treatment

Water Sci Technol. 2012;65(11):2079-83. doi: 10.2166/wst.2012.108.

Abstract

Electrocoagulation (EC) is a wastewater treatment process in which aqueous pollutants can be removed by adsorption, entrapment, precipitation or coalescence during a coagulation step produced by electrochemically generated metallic species. When using Fe as the sacrificial electrode, Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) ions are formed. As Fe(3+) species are paramagnetic, this property can in principle be used to facilitate their removal through the application of a magnetic field. In the present work we present a proof-of-concept for a combined electrochemical-magnetic method for pollutant removal. For this approach, the amounts of Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) produced in an EC cell at various voltages were measured by spectroscopic methods to confirm that Fe(3+) species predominate (up to 84%). The effectiveness of the presence of a magnetic field in the precipitation of coagulants from a suspension was confirmed by monitoring the turbidity change versus time with and without exposure to a magnetic field, up to a 30% improvement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Electrochemical Techniques*
  • Iron / chemistry
  • Magnetic Phenomena*
  • Time Factors
  • Waste Disposal, Fluid / methods
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
  • Water Purification / methods*

Substances

  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Iron