The electrocoagulation (EC) using metallic Ni foam as electrodes was studied for the removal of boron from solution. The electrolytic parameters were pH (4-12), current density (0.6-2.5 mA cm-2), and initial concentration of boron (10-100 mg L-1). Experimental results revealed that removal efficiency was maximized at pH 8-9, and decreased as the pH increased beyond that range. At particular onset potentials (0.5-0.8 V vs. Hg/HgO), the micro-granular nickel oxide that was created on the surface of the nickel metal substrate depended on pH, as determined by cyclic voltammetry. Most of the crystallites of the precipitates comprised a mixed phase of β-Ni(OH)2, a theophrastite phase, and NiOOH, as revealed by XRD and SEM analyses. A current density of 1.25 mA cm-2 was effective in the EC of boron, and increasing the concentration of boric acid from 10 to 100 mg L-1 did not greatly impair removal efficiency. A kinetic investigation revealed that the reaction followed a pseudo-second order rate model. The optimal conditions under which 99.2% of boron was removed from treated wastewater with 10 mg L-1-B, leaving less than 0.1 mg L-1-B in the electrolyte, were pH 8 and 1.25 mA cm-2 for 120 min.
Keywords: Cyclic voltammetry; Electrocoagulation; Ni(OH)(2); NiOOH; Zeta-potential.
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