Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Review

A comprehensive review of electrocoagulation for water treatment:

Potentials and challenges
Dina T. Moussa, Muftah H. El-Naas*, Mustafa Nasser, Mohammed J. Al-Marri
Gas Processing Center, College of Engineering, Qatar University, P.O. Box 2713, Doha, Qatar

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Electrocoagulation is an effective electrochemical approach for the treatment of different types of
Received 17 August 2016 contaminated water and has received considerable attention in recent years due its high efficiency in
Received in revised form dealing with numerous stubborn pollutants. It has been successful in dealing with organic and inorganic
9 October 2016
contaminants with negligible or almost no generation of by-product wastes. During the past decade, vast
Accepted 15 October 2016
Available online 9 November 2016
amount of research has been devoted to utilizing electrocoagulation for the treatment of several types of
wastewater, ranging from polluted groundwater to highly contaminated refinery wastewater. This paper
offers a comprehensive review of recent literature that has been dedicated to utilizing electrocoagulation
Keywords:
Electrocoagulation
for water treatment, focusing on current successes on specific applications in water and wastewater
Water treatment treatment, as well as potentials for future applications. The paper examines such aspects as theory,
Wastewater potential applications, current challenges, recent developments as well as economical concerns associ-
Water pollution ated with the technology. Most of the recent EC research has been focusing on pollutant-specific eval-
EC cell design uation without paying attention to cell design, process modeling or industrial applications. This review
attempts to highlight the main achievements in the area and outlines the major shortcomings with
recommendations for promising research options that can enhance the technology and broaden its range
of applications.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2. Colloidal particles stability and destabilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.1. Compression of the electrical double layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2. Adsorption/charge neutralization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3. Adsorption/inter-particle bridging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4. Entrapment of particles in precipitate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3. Theory and history of electrocoagulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4. Advantages and disadvantages of electrocoagulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5. Applications of electrocoagulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
6. Factors affecting the efficiency of electrocoagulation process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.1. Electrode arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6.2. Type of power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
6.3. Current density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.4. Concentration of anions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.5. Effect of initial pH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.5.1. Aluminum anodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
6.5.2. Iron anodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
6.6. Electrode material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: muftah@qu.edu.qa (M.H. El-Naas).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.10.032
0301-4797/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 25

7. Challenges facing electrocoagulation technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

8. Recent advances in EC technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
8.1. Integrating EC units with existing technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
8.2. Kinetics and modeling of EC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
8.3. Cell design and process enhancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
9. Scale up of EC units for industrial scale applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
10. Cost analysis of electrocoagulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
11. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

1. Introduction electricity cost required (Chen, 2004). During the past two decades,
electrochemical wastewater treatment technologies started to
Water scarcity is one of the greatest current and future chal- regain importance as an environmentally friendly option that
lenges that face humankind as the world's population and water generates minimal sludge, requires no chemical additives and
consumption rates continue to grow. This has led to a renewed minimal footprint without compromising the quality of the treated
interest in developing cost effective, reliable and environmentally water. This paper focuses on reviewing recent advances in elec-
friendly wastewater treatment technologies that would be able to trocoagulation with the aim of identifying the current state of the
reuse the huge amounts of wastewater generated from various technology and its potential as an effective water treatment
industries. Although several wastewater treatment technologies method. Despite the considerable number of publications about
are available and have been applied for a long period, most of these electrocoagulation, they tend to focus on laboratory scale experi-
water treatment technologies consume huge amount of energy ments that prove the effectiveness of the technology in the removal
from carbon-based energy sources, which are non-renewable and of specific pollutants. Few authors looked into the kinetics,
contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. modeling, cell design, cost analysis, integrating electrocoagulation
Wastewater treatment technologies could be categorized into with existing technologies, scale-up and industrial applications,
three major groups: Physical, chemical or biological processes; which are key factors that represent major challenges to the success
examples of unit operations from each category are illustrated in of electrocoagulation. This review attempts to point out specific
Fig. 1. A typical wastewater treatment plant consists of a combi- gaps, where more research is needed to develop electrocoagulation
nation of physical, chemical and biological unit operations to target as a reliable and cost effective water treatment technology.
the removal of different constituents/pollutants. Physical unit op- Electrocoagulation (EC) is an emerging technology in water and
erations depend purely on the physical separation of pollutants wastewater treatment, as it combines the benefits of coagulation,
from wastewater without causing a significant change in the flotation and electrochemistry. The theory behind coagulation/
chemical or biological characteristics of the treated water. flocculation and (EC) is basically the same. Both methods target the
Chemical processes are referred to as additive processes, as they removal of particles from wastewater through destabilizing/
require the addition of chemicals to react with the desired con- neutralizing the repulsive forces that keep the particles suspended
taminants and remove it. The additive nature of chemical processes in water. When the repulsive forces are neutralized, the suspended
makes them less attractive compared to other processes as they particles will form larger particles that can settle down for easier
increase the net dissolved constituents in wastewater and render it separation from water. The main advantage of EC over chemical
impractical to reuse in other applications. Biological unit processes coagulation/flocculation CC/CF is that coagulation/flocculation uses
utilize microorganisms for the biodegradation of contaminants in chemical coagulants/flocculants such as metal salts or poly-
wastewater, and the main aim of these processes is to reduce the electrolytes while in EC the coagulants are generated in situ by the
organic content and nutrients in wastewater. Biological units are electrolytic oxidation of an appropriate anode material which re-
generally classified into aerobic, anaerobic or facultative depending sults in much less sludge generation. Another major advantage of
on the availability of dissolved oxygen in wastewater (Asia, 2003). EC over CC/CF and other conventional water treatment methods is
Other than the above-mentioned processes, promising, rela- the potential of treating oily water, where the presence of electric
tively new technologies that utilize the concepts of electrochem- current can contribute to the electrocoalescence of oil droplets.
istry are also available such as electrocoagulation (EC), Electrocoalescence has been proven effective in dealing with tight
electrooxidation and electrofloatation. Although using electricity emulsions, where the droplets are very small (Mhatre et al., 2015).
for water treatment applications goes back to the 19th century, Very tight emulsions are often encountered in the Oil and Gas in-
when EC was used for the treatment of drinking water in the United dustry, either through the presence of fine water droplets in oil or
States, they were found impractical due to the high capital and vice versa, as is the case in produced water. The detailed theory of

Physical processes Chemical Prcoesses Biological Processes

•Screeening •Coagulation/Flocculation •Trickling filters

•Floatation •Chlorination •Aerated lagoons
•Filtration •Adsorption •Activated sludge
•Sedmintation •Ion exchange •Rotating biological
contactors

Fig. 1. Classification of typical unit operations in wastewater treatment plants.

26 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41
EC will be discussed in a separate section, but prior to exploring the
theory of EC, it is important to look at the colloidal system prop-
erties and stability; this is discussed in the following section.
2. Colloidal particles stability and destabilization
Colloidal particles exist in many natural and engineered sys-
tems. Colloidal particles stability is often explained by the presence
of repulsive electrical charges on the surface of particles and sta-
bility can be estimated by considering the interaction forces be-
tween the particles. When repulsive forces are dominant, the
system will remain in a dispersed state. In contrast, when the
interaction forces control, the particles will coagulate/flocculate
and the suspensions maybe destabilized. Particles with the same
charge repel each other, so this repulsion needs to be minimized if
destabilization is required. Colloids are microscopic particles that
are typically in the range of 1 nm to 2 mm, resulting in a very small
ratio of mass to surface area. Given that their total surface area is
large compared to their mass and size, the gravitational forces of
colloids are often neglected as compared to the surface phenomena
predominating when studying colloidal suspension. The suspen-
sion and stability of colloidal particles in water is attributed to the
fact that they carry a similar charge, usually negatively charged, so
they repel each other and remain suspended (Ghernaout et al.,
2011). In order to neutralize the charge, counter charged particles
are used to be attracted to the surface of the colloids forming an
electric double layer as illustrated in Fig. 2.
The electric double layer consists of an inner region (stern layer),
where oppositely charged ions are tightly bound to the surface of
colloidal particles and an outer layer, where the ions move freely
due to diffusion (Ion diffuse layer or slipping plane). The interface of
the inner and outer layers is known as the shear surface which
defines the outer limit of the stern layer (Vepsalainen, 2012).
The maximum potential occurs at the surface of colloidal par-
ticle and is known as the Nernst potential, where it decreases across
the stern layer due to the presence of oppositely charged particles
Solid Particle
Surface
Shear Plane
Particle
Net negative
Stern Layer
ψo
ψs
Fig. 2. Electrical double layer illustration.
resulting in what is defined as the Zeta potential measured at the
surface of shear (Ghernaout et al., 2011; Vepsalainen, 2012). Zeta
potential is the main reason of colloidal system stability, as it rep-
resents the electrical charge difference between the first and sec-
ond layers and gives an indication of the extent of repulsion
between colloidal particles carrying the same charge. The higher
the value of Zeta potential, the greater the magnitude of repulsion
between particles and consequently the more stable is the colloidal
system. In general, colloidal particles in suspensions with zeta
potentials more positive than þ30 mV or more negative
than 30 mV are normally considered stable (Duman and Tunç,
2009).
DLVO (Derjaguin-Landua- Verwey-Overbeek) theory is a good
starting point to describe the stability of colloidal particles (Tadros,
1986, 1990; Nasser and James, 2006a; 2006b; 2007). Simply, DLVO
theory considers the contributions of the attractive van der Waals
potential and the repulsive electrostatic potential. Therefore, ac-
cording to DLVO theory, the dispersed particles are under the effect
of two independent forces: attractive van der Waals force and the
repulsive electrostatic force arising from the presence of electrical
double-layer at particles’ surfaces. The charges on the particles will
be balanced by equal and opposite ions solution. This means that
there will be an excess of positive charge accumulated in the
interfacial region around a negative ion, and this will govern the
electrostatic effects (Tadros, 1986). This is called electrical-double
layer and is shown in Fig. 3. It follows that the electrostatic
double-layer interaction (Vt) between two particles is the outcome
of the overlap of two double layers.
According to DLVO theory, the net interaction energy (Vt) of two
particles is given by the sum of Van der Waals attraction energy
(VA) and electrostatic repulsion energy (VR), as presented in Fig. 3 as
a function of the distance (X) between two particles. The attractive
energy of interaction (VA) is inversely proportional to X and hence
increases rapidly as the oil droplets approach each other. Contrarily,
the repulsive energy (VR) depends exponentially on X and changes
more slowly. The net interaction curve (VA þ VR) in Fig. 3 shows
Diffuse Layer
ψ0 = Surface potential
ψ s = Stern potential
ξ = Zeta potential
1 κ = Double layer thickness
1κ Distance from
particle surface
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 27

where adsorption of counter charged ions on the surface of

colloidal particles results in neutralizing their surface charge so that
repulsive forces are overcome and van der Waals attractive forces
dominate. Eventually colloidal particles approach each other and
coagulate (Mollah et al., 2004; Vepsalainen, 2012; Ghernaout et al.,
2011).

2.3. Adsorption/inter-particle bridging

When metal coagulants are polymerized, they have the ability to

form links/bridges between colloidal particles especially when the
polymers have high molecular weight and long chain. This phe-
nomenon is due to the reactive groups that polymers have which
can adsorb to the colloids surface in various forms including:
charge- charge interactions and hydrogen bonding. The bridging of
colloidal particles results in the formation of bigger particles and
hence destabilization. This mechanism is quite risky, since colloidal
particles can be restabilized in cases where the polymer's chains
are attached to all colloidal particles existing, but there are some
Fig. 3. Typical interaction energy versus particle separation curve. free extended chains not attached to any particles. In such cir-
cumstances, the free chain will reattach to the same particle and
cause destabilization. It is therefore crucial not to use an overdose
three distinct features: a primary minimum, a secondary minimum of polymers. In addition to overdosing of polymer, rapid mixing
and a maximum (Chassagne et al., 2009; Williams and Williams, could also break the bridging between colloids and eventually
1978). restabilize them (Ghernaout et al., 2011; Vepsalainen, 2012).
As mentioned earlier, the role of coagulants/flocculants in either
CC/CF or EC is to destabilize the colloids by reducing the repulsive 2.4. Entrapment of particles in precipitate
forces and forcing the particles to agglomerate for easier separa-
tion. Coagulation/flocculation follows four different mechanisms to This mechanism, also called sweep coagulation, is often
destabilize colloidal systems depending on several factors such as encountered when high metal salt concentrations are added. In
chemical and physical properties of the solution, coagulant/floc- such cases, the metal salts react with water forming insoluble metal
culant and pollutant types. These mechanisms are briefly summa- hydrates that precipitate forming a sludge blanket. The formed
rized below. precipitates eventually entrap colloidal particles during and after
precipitation (Ghernaout et al., 2011; Vepsalainen, 2012).
2.1. Compression of the electrical double layer
3. Theory and history of electrocoagulation
The thickness of the electric double layer affects the extent of
repulsion between particles and hence their stability. As the After understanding the stabilization and destabilization of
thickness of the double layer decreases, the repulsive forces are also colloidal systems, it is time to dig into the theory of electro-
reduced and particles can easily come together forming larger coagulation, which is an advanced technology combining the well-
particles. In order to compress the electrical double layer, counter known coagulation, flotation and electrochemistry. Each of the
charged ions are added to the solution either by metal salts/elec- three technologies has been studied extensively in a separate
trolytes in case of CC/CF or by oxidation of the anode in case of EC.
In both cases, these metal ions will diffuse through the double layer
causing higher counter ion concertation around the colloidal par-
ticle, which in turn reduces the electrical double layer thickness
and repulsive forces. When the electrical double layer thickness is
compressed, the Zeta potential measured at the shear surface will
also be reduced and the optimum destabilization happens if Zeta
potential approaches 0 mV.
When added to the solution, different metal ions have different
destabilization ability. This is best explained by looking at Schultze-
Hardly rule, which simply states that as the charge of added
counter metal ions increases, its ability to destabilize the colloidal
particles also increases. Therefore, it is favorable to use divalent or
trivalent metal ions to destabilize counter charged colloids. It is
worth mentioning that this mechanism is characterized by large
metal ions concentration to achieve destabilization, which makes it
impractical for water treatment (Vepsalainen, 2012; Ghernaout
et al., 2011; Mollah et al., 2004).

2.2. Adsorption/charge neutralization

The concept of this destabilization mechanism is quite simple, Fig. 4. A schematic representation of a basic EC cell.
28 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41
Fig. 5. E-pH diagram of iron at 25  C.
manner; however, there is limited literature available on inte-
grating these three technologies that are the basis of EC. The
literature indicates that the history of EC extends to the past hun-
dred years, where it has been employed to treat water containing
pollutants such as: heavy metals, tannery, textile and colored
wastewater, pulp and paper industry wastewater, oily wastewater
and food industry (Kuokkanen et al., 2013; Moreno et al., 2009). A
review of the applications of EC is discussed in details in Section 5.
The basic EC unit typically consists of an electrolytic cell with an
anode and cathode metal electrodes connected externally to a DC
power source and immersed in the solution to be treated as shown
in Fig. 4. Iron and aluminum electrodes are the most extensively
used metals for EC cells since these metals are available, non-toxic
and proven to be reliable. Although EC is considered to be quite
similar to CC/CF in terms of the destabilization mechanism, it still
differs from CC/CF in other aspects such as the side reactions
occurring simultaneously at both electrodes.
The anode serves as the coagulant in an EC cell, where it dis-
sociates to give metal cations when DC is passed through the cell.
The dissociation of anode follows Faraday's law given by:
ItMw
m¼
zF
where I is the current (A), t is the time of operation (s), Mw is the
molecular weight (g/mol), F is Faraday's constant (96,485 C/mol), z
is the number of electrons involved in the reaction and m is the
mass of anode dissolved (g).
The anodic reactions are expressed by Eqs. (2)e(6) for both
aluminum and iron electrodes.
Fe ðsÞ/Fenþ ðaqÞ þ ne1
4Fe 2þ ðaqÞ þ 10H2 O þ O2 ðaqÞ/4FeðOHÞ3 ðsÞ þ 8H þ
Fe 2þ ðaqÞ þ 2OH /FeðOHÞ2 ðsÞ (4)
Al ðsÞ/Al3þ ðaqÞ þ 3e1 (5)
Al 3þ ðaqÞ þ nH2 O/AlðOHÞ3n
n þ nH þ (6)
Depending on the pH of the solution and the potential, iron can
form divalent or trivalent cations as illustrated in the E-pH diagram
for iron. On the other hand, aluminum only dissolves as trivalent
cations. Using the iron and aluminum E-pH diagrams (Figs. 5 and
6), the stable compounds of each could be predicted at different
conditions.
As mentioned previously, several side reactions occur in the EC
cell, which includes evolution of hydrogen bubbles at the cathode
along with OH ions, which lead to an increase in pH of the solution
as expressed by Eq. (7):
2e þ 2H2 O/H2 þ 2OH (7)
In some cases, the actual anode dissolution does not match the
one calculated using Faraday's law, which indicates that other
(1) electrochemical reactions might be taking place at the anode.
Several authors suggested that evolution of oxygen at the anode
might take place at alkaline pH and sufficiently high anodic po-
tential (Eq. (8)) which might be the reason behind the mismatch of
theoretical and actual anodic dissolution (Vepsalainen, 2012;
Mouedhen et al., 2008; Chen, 2004; Mollah et al., 2004; Kobya
et al., 2006; Can~ izares et al., 2005).
2H2 O/O2 þ 4Hþ þ 4e (8)
(2)
4. Advantages and disadvantages of electrocoagulation
(3)
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 29

Advantages Disadvantages

Since no chemicals are added, there is no chance of secondary pollution Regular replacement of sacrificial anode used in EC is necessary since the anode dissolves into
due to high concentration of chemicals as in CC/CF (Mollah et al., the solution (Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan et al., 2015).
2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005).
Gas bubbles produced from EC facilitates the removal of pollutants by Cathode passivation can occur which decreases the efficiency of the EC process (Mollah et al.,
floating them on top of the solution so they can be easily collected 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005).
(Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan
et al., 2015).
EC is easily operated due to the simplicity of its equipment hence, In some areas where electricity is not abundant, the operating cost of EC can be expensive
complete automation of the process is possible (Mollah et al., 2004, (Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan et al., 2015).
Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan et al., 2015).
Wastewater treated by EC gives clear, colorless and odorless water
(Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005).
Flocs formed by EC are much larger than CC/CF and more stable, hence
they are easily separated during filtration (Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah
et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005).
EC produces much less sludge volume than CC/CF and the sludge formed
is more stable and non-toxic (Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001;
Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan et al., 2015).
Even the smallest colloidal particles are removed by EC since the applied
electric current makes collision faster and facilitates coagulation
(Mollah et al., 2004, Mollah et al., 2001; Holt et al., 2005; Bazrafshan
et al., 2015).

5. Applications of electrocoagulation
This section presents an overview of the recent application of EC
in the treatment of different types of water and wastewater over
the past few years (Tables 1e6). The review was divided into six
main categories namely:
3 Food industry wastewater: Food industry consumes larger
1 Water containing heavy metals: Heavy metals are discharged
from several industries and wastewater containing heavy
metals are challenging to treat as they are non-biodegradable
and some metals are toxic. Heavy metals: include cadmium,
chromium, zinc, lead, mercury and arsenic.
2 Tannery and textile industry wastewater: Tannery and textile
industry effluent is highly contaminated with organics,
chromium and different types of dyes. Chromium on its own is a
major concern as it may oxidize to Cr6þ, which is carcinogenic
and toxic. The presence of dyes also renders the water quality
very poor by preventing the passage of sun light; it is also
known to be highly stable, toxic and may resist chemical and
biological degradation.
amounts of water for each ton of product compared to other in-
dustries. Various contaminants are found in wastewater from
food industry depending on the sector but the general charac-
teristics of wastewater are being highly biodegradable and non-
toxic with high suspended solids, COD and BOD. In the case of
meat processing industry, color, oil and grease are other concerns.

Fig. 6. E-pH diagram of aluminum at 25  C.

30 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41

Table 1
Recent applications of EC for water containing heavy metals.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode material Electrode Optimum Reference

removed operation mode configuration removal efficiency

Water containing Cadmium Batch Zinc (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel 97.8% (Vasudevan and
heavy metals 96.9% Lakshmi, 2011)
Chromium Batch Aluminum and/or iron Monopolar parallel 100% (Fe-Fe) (Hamdan and El-Naas,
electrodes (Anode & 2014b)
cathode)
Cadmium Batch Aluminum (anode & Monopolar parallel 100% (monopolar) (Khaled et al.)
cathode) Bipolar
Chromium Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Bipolar Almost 100% (Heidmann and
Calmano, 2008)
Chromium Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Bipolar 99.9% (bipolar) (Golder et al., 2007)
Monopolar 81.5% (monopolar)
Arsenic e Aluminum and/or iron Polarity reversed every 99.6% (Fe-Fe) (Gomes et al., 2007)
electrodes 15 min 78.9e99.6% (Al-Fe)
97.8% (Al-Al)
Copper, nickel, Batch Aluminum and/or iron Bipolar 95% (Ni) (Heidmann and
and chromium electrodes 95% (Cr) Calmano, 2010)
100% (Cu)
Chromium and Continuous Parallel plates of iron and e More than 99% (Parga et al., 2005)
arsenic carbon steel
Arsenic Continuous Aluminum (anode & Bipolar 93% (Mohora et al., 2014)
cathode)
Arsenic Batch Anode (Iron ball/plate Monopolar parallel 99.3% (ball electrodes) (Kobya et al., 2015)
Electrodes) (plate electrodes) 96.9% (plate electrodes)
Cathode (titanium)
Chromium Batch Aluminum (anode & Bipolar More than 90% (Fe)* (Bazrafshan et al., 2008)
cathode) More than 88% (Al)*
Iron (anode & cathode) *within 20 min at 50 mg/l initial
concentration
Cadmium Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Bipolar More than 94% (Fe)* (Bazrafshan et al., 2007)
*within 20 min at 50 mg/l initial
concentration
Zinc & copper Batch Aluminum (anode & Bipolar More than 93% (Zn)* (Nouri et al., 2010)
cathode) More than 92% (Cu)*
*within 15 min at 50 mg/l initial
concentration

4 Paper industry wastewater: Paper industry consumes large
amounts of water and the effluent is usually blackish in color
and highly contaminated with lignin, COD, BOD, organics, sus-
pended solids and arsenic.
5 Refinery wastewater: Includes wastewater generated from
petroleum refineries and petrochemical industries. It usually
contains high level of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons,
chemicals, dissolved solids, BOD and COD.
6 Produced water: Produced water is the largest by product by
volume produced from oil and gas industry. Although the
composition of produced water depends on the nature of pro-
duced hydrocarbon, the geological characteristics of the field, and
the method of extraction, it is usually very saline and contains
various contaminants including production chemicals, dispersed
and dissolved oils, dissolved gases and different minerals.
6. Factors affecting the efficiency of electrocoagulation
process
Several parameters are known to have an influence on electro-
coagulation efficiency and ability to remove pollutants from
wastewater; the most important parameters are discussed in this
section:
6.1. Electrode arrangement
Regardless of the simplicity of the basic EC setup illustrated in
Fig. 3, it is not suitable for practical wastewater treatment appli-
cations, as it requires huge electrode surface area to overcome the
metal dissociation rate; this is overcome by using monopolar or
dipolar electrode setups in series or parallel connections as illus-
trated in Fig. 7.
In monopolar- parallel (MP-P) configuration, all the anodes are
connected to each other and to the external DC supply, and the
same thing applies to cathode electrodes. In this configuration, the
current is divided between the electrodes resulting in a lower po-
tential difference if compared to the electrodes connected in series.
On the other hand, monopolar- series (MP-S) connection is ach-
ieved when the two outermost electrodes are connected to the
external circuit forming the anode and cathode while each pair of
the inner electrodes are connected to each other without an
interconnection to the outer electrodes. In this case, the cell voltage
is added giving a higher potential difference. The inner electrodes
are known as the “sacrificial electrodes” that could be made of
similar or different metals and their role is to reduce the con-
sumption of the anode and passivation of the cathode.
The third option is the bipolar- series (BP-S) configuration in
which the outermost electrodes are directly connected to the
external power supply with the inner electrodes not connected by
any means. Once current passes through the main electrodes, the
adjacent side of inner electrodes gets polarized and will carry a
charge opposite to the charge of the nearby electrode. In such
configuration, the two outermost electrodes are known to be
monopolar while the inner sacrificial electrodes are bipolar.
(Vepsalainen, 2012; Kobya and Demirbas, 2015; Demirci et al.,
2015; Khandegar and Saroha, 2013; Mollah et al., 2004).
The choice of the appropriate electrode connection is deter-
mined by the removal efficiency and treatment cost and has been
investigated in several studies. Demirci et al. (2015) studied the
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 31

Table 2
Recent applications of EC in tannery and textile industry.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode Electrode Optimum Reference

removed operation mode material configuration removal efficiency

Tannery & textile COD Continuous Anode (Iron) e 35% (BOD) (Babu et al., 2007)
industry BOD Cathode (Aluminum) 42% (TDS)
TDS 42% (COD)
Chromium 46% (Cr)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel 70% (SS) (Apaydin et al., 2009)
Sulfide 97% (Cr)
SS 46% (COD)
Chromium 90% (Sulfide)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) e 84% (COD) (Zaroual et al., 2006)
Color 100% (color)
COD Batch Aluminum (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel 82.2% (COD, Al-Al) (Varank et al., 2014)
TSS Iron (anode & cathode) 85.5% (TSS, Al-Al)
67.4% (COD, Fe-Fe)
86.2% (TSS, Fe-Fe)
Turbidity Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel 96% (Turbidity) (Espinoza-Quin~ ones
Chromium 98% (Cr) et al., 2009)
TVS 80% (TVS)
TSS More than 80% (Ca)
TFS 80% (Zn)
Zinc 50% (COD)
COD 65% (TSS & TFS)
Calcium
Dye (Direct red 81) Batch Aluminum (anode & cathode) e More than 98% (Aoudj et al., 2010)
TOC Batch Aluminum (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel DY RY (Eyvaz et al., 2009)
Disperse dye (DY) DC APC DC APC
Reactive dye (RY) TOC 49% 57% 81% 89%
Dye 59% 63% 96% 99.9%
COD Batch Aluminum (anode & cathode) Monopolar 76% (COD, Fe-Fe) (Can et al., 2006)
Turbidity Iron (Anode & cathode) 65% (COD, Al-Al)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) e 68% (COD) (Feng et al., 2007)
Color Aluminum (anode & cathode) 43.1% (Ammonia)
Sulfide 2 stage EC 55.1% (TOC)
TOC 96.7% (Sulfide)
Ammonia 84.3% (color)
COD Batch Iron (anode &cathode) Bipolar 82% (COD) (Şengil et al., 2009)
Sulfide Aluminum (anode & cathode) 90% (Sulfide)
Oil-grease 96% (oil-grease)

Table 3
Recent applications of EC in refinery wastewater.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode material Electrode Optimum removal Reference

removed operation mode configuration efficiency

Refinery COD Batch Aluminum (anode & e 88% (COD) rez et al.)
(Pe
wastewater TPH cathode) 80% (TPH)
Phenol Batch Aluminum (Horizontal e 97% (Abdelwahab et al.,
plate cathode & horizontal 2009)
screen anode)
COD Continuous Aluminum (Anode & Monopolar (combined 97% (COD) (El-Naas et al., 2014)
Phenol cathode) with other units) 100% (Phenol)
Cresols 100% (Cresols)
Sulfate Batch Aluminum, iron and Monopolar 93% (Sulfate) (El-Naas et al., 2009)
COD stainless steel (Different 63% (COD)
anode/cathode (Using Aluminum anode &
combinations) cathode)
Phenols Batch Anode is a fixed bed of e 100% (El-Ashtoukhy et al.,
random Al raschig rings 2013)
connected with thin Al wire
and packed in a perforated
basket on top of a
horizontal Al cathode sheet
COD Batch Iron or aluminum (anode & Monopolar parallel More than 80% (COD & Sulfide, (Ben Hariz et al., 2013)
Sulfide cathode) Fe, single EC unit)
More than 90% (COD & Sulfide,
Fe, 2 EC units)
58% (Sulfide, Al, single EC unit)
Oil Batch Iron (Anode & cathode) Bipolar series More than 95% (Oil) (Xu and Zhu, 2004)
COD More than 75% (COD)
Phenol Batch Iron (Anode & cathode) e 8.23% (Phenol) (Yavuz et al., 2010)
COD 6.27% (COD)
COD Continuous Aluminum (anode & e 57% (COD) (El-Naas et al., 2013)
cathode)
32 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41

Table 4
Recent applications of EC in food industry.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode Electrode Optimum Reference

removed operation mode material configuration removal efficiency

Food industry COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) e 90% (COD) (Yetilmezsoy et al.,
Color Aluminum (anode & 92% (Color) 2009)
cathode)
BOD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Monopolar & bipolar 86% (BOD) (Asselin et al., 2008)
Oil & grease Aluminum (anode & 99% (Oil & grease)
Soluble & total COD cathode) 50% (Soluble COD)
TSS 82% (Total COD)
Turbidity 89% (TSS)
90% (Turbidity)
(Approx. using iron
electrodes)
COD Batch Aluminum, iron or e 92 to 97% (COD) (Xu et al., 2002)
Turbidity stainless steel (anode & 97% (Turbidity)
TSS cathode) 99% (TSS)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) e 98% (COD) € zacar,
(Şengil and o
Oil & grease 99% (Oil & grease) 2006)
COD Batch Iron or aluminum e 71% (COD, Al-Al) (Kobya and Delipinar,
TOC (anode & cathode) 53% (TOC, Al-Al) 2008)
Turbidity 90% (Turbidity, Al-Al)
69% (COD, Fe-Fe)
52% (TOC, Fe-Fe)
56% (Turbidity, Fe-Fe)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Bipolar 70% (COD) (Kushwaha et al., 2010)
Turbidity 100% (Turbidity)
TS 48% (TS)
TN 93% (TN)
COD Batch Iron (anode & cathode) e 60% (COD) (Kobya et al., 2006)
Turbidity Aluminum (anode & Turbidity (98%)
cathode)
TOC Batch Aluminum and iron e 74% (TOC) (Valero et al., 2011)
COD (Alternating anode and 81% (COD)
BOD5 cathode) 80% (BOD5)
TN 75% (TN)
TP 99.7% (TP)
Color 99.6% (Color)
TSS 99.7% (TSS)
Turbidity 99.4% (Turbidity)
COD Batch Aluminum (anode & e 90% (COD) (Roa-Morales et al.,
BOD5 cathode) 96% (BOD5) 2007)
TS 95% (TS)
FC 99.9% (FC)
COD Batch Aluminum (anode& e 88% (COD) (Barrera-Díaz et al.,
BOD5 cathode) 52% (BOD5) 2006)
TS 82% (TS)
Total coliforms 93% (Total coliforms)
COD batch Aluminum (anode& Bipolar 98.84% (COD) (Bazrafshan et al., 2012)
BOD5 cathode) 97.95% (BOD5)
TSS 97.75 (TSS)
Bacterial indicators More than 99.9%
(bacterial indicators)

effect of different electrode connections (MP-P, MP-S, BP-P) on the (2008).

color and turbidity removal and total treatment cost of EC of textile
wastewater treatment; his results proved that the removal effi-
ciencies were similar for all three connections; however, the MP-P
configuration is the most cost effective. Kobya and Demirbas (2015)
proved the same results, where MP-P mode gave the highest
removal efficiencies and lowest operating cost for EC treatment of
can manufacturing wastewater. In an experiment to remove Cr3þ
from aqueous solutions using EC with mild steel electrodes, Golder
et al. (2007) studied the effect of monopolar and bipolar connec-
tions on the current efficiency, Cr3þ removal and operating cost.
The results showed that monopolar connection gave much higher
current efficiency with lower operating cost compared to bipolar
connection. However, bipolar connection resulted in an almost
complete removal of Cr3þ compared to 81.5% with monopolar
connection. The removal of fluoride from drinking water was better
when bipolar electrodes were used but the total operating cost of
monopolar electrodes was much less as reported by Ghosh et al.
6.2. Type of power supply
DC power supply is typically used for electrocoagulation cells;
however, using DC leads to oxidation/consumption of the anode
and a formation of an oxide layer on the cathode known as cathode
passivation. Passivation causes an increase in passive over poten-
tial, which leads to higher power consumption; the passive layer
also results in a decreased flow of current between the two elec-
trodes and decreases the efficiency of EC. Yang et al. (2015) high-
lighted that passivation problem could be cured by adding a
sufficient amount of chloride ions which breakdown the passive
layer or by applying an alternating pulsed current (APC) which
prevents the formation of passive layer when Al or Fe electrodes are
used.
Several studies have reported promising results using AC power
supply. Mollah et al. (2001) reported that AC ensures reasonable
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 33

Table 5
Recent applications of EC in paper industry.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode Electrode Optimum Reference

removed operation mode material configuration removal efficiency

Paper industry Turbidity Batch (2 cells: 300 ml & Aluminum (anode & Single anode & 97% (Turbidity/300 ml (Terrazas et al.,
COD 4.5L) cathode) cathode/Monopolar cell) 2010)
BOD parallel 92% (Turbidity/4.5L
cell)
50% (COD)
60% (BOD)
DOC Batch Aluminum or iron e 46% (DOC, Al-Al) (Zodi et al., 2011)
COD electrodes (Anode & 68% (COD, Al-Al)
Arsenic cathode) 91.5% (Arsenic, Al-Al)
Lignin 50% (Lignin, Al-Al)
31% (DOC, Fe-Fe)
41% (COD, Fe-Fe)
88% (Arsenic, FeFe)
75% (Lignin, Fe-Fe)
COD Batch Aluminum and/or iron Monopolar parallel 85% (COD, Fe-Fe) (Katal and
Phenol electrodes (Anode & 95% (Phenol, Al-Al) Pahlavanzadeh,
Color cathode) 92% (Color, Al-Al) 2011)
Approximate values
COD Batch Aluminum (anode & Monopolar parallel 95% (Shankar et al.,
cathode) 2015)
Color Batch Aluminum (anode & e 94% (Color) (Sridhar et al.,
COD cathode) 90% (COD) 2011)
BOD 87% (BOD)
Color Batch Lead (anode, cylindrical e 100% (Color) (Sridhar et al.,
COD sheet) 97.3% (COD) 2011; El-Ashtoukhy
Stainless steel (cathode, et al., 2009)
cylindrical sheet)
Color Batch Iron (anode & cathode) Monopolar parallel 97% (Color, batch) (Khansorthong and
COD Continuous 77% (COD, batch) Hunsom, 2009)
91% (Color, Continuous)
77% (COD, Continuous)
Color Batch Mild steel & aluminum e 92% (Color, Mild steel) (Kalyani et al.,
COD (anode) 84% (Color, Aluminum) 2009)
Stainless steel 95% (COD, Mild steel)
(cathode) 89% (COD, Aluminum)
Lignin Batch Aluminum or iron e 80% (Lignin, Al-Al) urlu et al., 2008)
(Ug
Phenol electrodes (Anode & 98% (Phenol, Al-Al)
COD cathode) 70% (BOD, Al-Al)
BOD 75% (COD, Al-Al)
92% (Lignin, Fe-Fe)
93% (Phenol, Fe-Fe)
80% (BOD, Fe-Fe)
55% (COD, Fe-Fe)
COD Batch Aluminum or iron Parallel electrodes 98% (COD, Al-Al) (Zaied and
Polyphenols electrodes (Anode & 92% (Polyphenols, Al- Bellakhal, 2009)
Color cathode) Al)
99% (color, Al-Al)

electrode life due to the cyclic energization which delays the
traditional electrode consumption encountered in DC. Vasudevan
et al. (2011) studied the effect of AC & DC on the removal of cad-
mium from water using electrocoagulation and the results proved
that lower energy consumption & higher pollutant removal effi-
ciency is achieved using AC power supply. In a study of the effect of
alternating current EC on dye removal from aqueous solutions,
Eyvaz et al. (2009) proved that a higher removal efficiency in
shorter operation time is achieved when using APC; moreover, the
removal efficiency didn't decrease with time as in the case of DC.
They also reported that the operating cost of APC is much less than
DC system which makes it more economical.
there is high chance of wasting electrical energy in heating the
water and even a decrease in current efficiency expressed as the
ratio of the current consumed to produce a certain product to the
total current consumption. There is a critical value for current
density which if exceeded the quality of treated water does not
show significant improvement. The selection of an optimum value
for current density is also affected by other parameters such as pH,
temperature and water flowrate (Chen, 2004; Khandegar and
Saroha, 2013). Several researchers studied the effect of current
density on the operation/efficiency of EC at different operating
conditions (Mansoorian et al., 2014; Kobya et al., 2016; Gatsios
et al., 2015; Khaled et al., Attour et al., 2014; Bayar et al., 2011;
Mouedhen et al., 2008).

6.3. Current density

Current density, which is the current per area of electrode, de-
termines the amount of metal ions released from the electrodes. In
general, metal ion dissociation is directly proportional to the
applied current density. However, when too large current is used
6.4. Concentration of anions
The presence of different anions has different effects on the
destabilization properties of metal ions. Sulfate ions are known to
inhibit the corrosion/metal dissolution from the electrodes and
34 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41

Table 6
Recent applications of EC for produced water.

Category Pollutants Reactor Electrode Electrode Optimum Reference

removed operation mode material configuration removal efficiency

Produced Magnesium Batch Iron and aluminum e 90% (Calcium) (Esmaeilirad et al., 2015)
water Calcium (Anode & cathode, 70% (Magnesium)61.1%
Barium polarity reversed (Strontium)
Strontium every 90 s) 74.2% (Barium)
Boron 74% (Boron)
TOC 64% (TOC)
Turbidity More than 95% (Turbidity)
Hardness Pilot scale Iron (Anode) Monopolar 85.81% (Hardness) (Zhao et al., 2014)
COD Graphite (cathode) parallel 66.64% (COD)
Turbidity 93.8% (Turbidity)
Boron Batch Aluminum e 98% (Ezechi et al., 2014)
(Anode & cathode)

hence they decrease the destabilization of colloids and current ef-
ficiency. On the other hand, chloride and nitrate ions prevent the
inhibition of sulfate ions by breaking down the passive layer
formed. The presence of chloride ions also significantly reduces the
adverse effect of sulfate ions, which lead to precipitation of salts on
the electrodes when the salt concentration is sufficiently high. The
precipitate forms an insulating layer that decreases the current
efficiency by increasing the potential between electrodes
(Vepsalainen, 2012; Khandegar and Saroha, 2013; Hu et al., 2003;
Trompette and Vergnes, 2009).
The conductivity of the solution is an important factor that af-
fects the efficiency and power consumption of EC, the higher the
conductivity, the lower the power consumption of EC due to the
increased pollutant removal efficiency. Therefore, the conductivity
of the solution is enhanced by adding anions in the form of salts
such as NaCl. It was also found that the presence of chlorine ions
effectively contributes to water disinfection (Khandegar and
Saroha, 2013; Chen, 2004).
6.5. Effect of initial pH
pH is a key parameter when it comes to electrocoagulation as it
affects the conductivity of the solution, zeta potential and electrode
dissolution. It is however difficult to establish a clear relationship
between the pH of the solution and the efficiency of electro-
coagulation since pH of the treated water changes during EC pro-
cess, therefore it is usually referred to the initial solution pH
(Vepsalainen, 2012; Chen, 2004; Mansoorian et al., 2014; Gatsios
et al., 2015; Ghernaout et al., 2011). Aluminum and iron anodes
behave in a different manner during EC as discussed below:
6.5.1. Aluminum anodes
As mentioned previously, when aluminum is used as the anode,
it undergoes electrolysis according to Eq. (5) to form trivalent
aluminum ions, which is followed by spontaneous hydrolysis ac-
cording to Eq. (6) to give various species depending on the pH of the
solution. The anodic reactions make the vicinity of the anode
slightly acidic, which is opposed, by the cathode vicinity being
slightly alkaline due to hydrogen evolution and production of OH
ions (Eq. (6)). As a general observation, when the initial pH of the
solution is highly acidic (pH < 3) or highly alkaline (pH > 11) there is
no considerable change in the initial pH. However, when the initial
pH is acidic, pH is expected to rise throughout the EC process and
when the initial pH is alkaline, pH is expected to decrease along the
EC process. Hence, EC using aluminum anode is considered a pH
neutralizer (Chen, 2004; Mouedhen et al., 2008; Barrera-Díaz et al.,
2006; Linares-Hern andez et al., 2009).
Barrera- Diaz et al. studied the predominant aluminum species
present in the solution at different pH values, where they found
that at pH less than 3.5, Al3þ is the major specie present, for pH
values between 4 and 9.5, Al(OH)3(S) predominates and when the
pH is greater than 10, AlðOHÞ 4 forms. The same results could be
found using the E-pH diagram for aluminum (Fig. 4), as it gives the
thermodynamically stable aluminum species at a given pH and cell

Fig. 7. Different configurations of electrode connections.

 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 35

potential. Barrera-Díaz et al. (2006) also investigated the effect of determines the reactions that would take place. As mentioned
initial pH on the reduction of COD and found that the best removal previously Al & Fe electrodes are most widely used due to their
efficiency is achieved within the pH range of 6e8 and the least proven reliability and availability, however, studies found that Fe
removal efficiency occurred at a highly alkaline pH of 12. These (II) is a weak coagulant if compared to Fe (III) due to its lower
results are quite reasonable since Al(OH)3(S) traps the colloids/ positive charge. A lower positive charge indicates that the ion's
pollutants in a sweep coagulation manner as it precipitates. On the ability to compress the electrical double layer/destabilize colloids is
other hand, AlðOHÞ 4 is known to be a very soluble weak coagulant weaker. In most of the studies, it is generally proven that Al elec-
as it carries a negative charge and will not be able to destabilize trodes enhance the efficiency of removing pollutants better than Fe
urlu et al., 2008; Abdelwahab et al.,
colloids (Terrazas et al., 2010; Ug electrodes (Vepsalainen, 2012).
2009). Several authors reached the same conclusion that the
maximum performance of EC using aluminum anodes is around 7. Challenges facing electrocoagulation technology
neutral pH (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh, 2011; Terrazas et al., 2010;
rez et al., Mouedhen et al., 2008; Kobya et al., 2006;
Pe Although EC has been used for considerable period of time, the
Abdelwahab et al., 2009; El-Naas et al., 2009). available literature does not provide a systematic approach for EC
reactor design and operation. EC is successfully used to treat water
and wastewater at a laboratory scale. However, scaling up to meet
6.5.2. Iron anodes
industrial conditions is challenging; this is attributed to the fact
Unlike aluminum anodes, iron can dissolve as divalent or
that current research mainly focuses on removal of specific pol-
trivalent cations (Eq. (1)), which are then hydrolyzed to form
lutants from wastewaters using batch experiments; “pollutant
insoluble iron compounds depending on the pH of the solution and
centered” approach. Very few authors take it to the next step and
the cell potential (Eq. (2)&(3)). The electrochemical dissolution
develop models for optimization and design of the reactor as a
mechanism of iron anodes reported in the literature is not consis-
function of the operating conditions “scientific centered” approach.
tent and lack an experimental proof of the actual species formed
Such models will facilitate predicting the performance of EC re-
during EC. Several authors reported the formation of Fe2þ as a
actors before actually designing them and will give us a better
result of electrolysis followed by hydrolysis to produce Fe(OH)2(S)
understanding of the design aspects allowing EC technology to
(Moreno et al., 2009, Parga et al., 2005; Can ~ izares et al., 2007;
progress beyond the current state of impracticality.
Mollah et al., 2001; Xu and Zhu, 2004); others reported further
As mentioned previously, EC integrates three different tech-
oxidation of Fe2þ and then hydrolysis to form Fe(OH)3(S) (Mollah
nologies each of them is separately well established but there is
et al., 2001; Linares-Hern andez et al., 2009; Xu and Zhu, 2004).
lack of information on how these technologies could be practically
Few authors reported direct electrolysis of iron to form Fe3þ fol-
integrated to come up with a reliable EC technology for industrial
lowed by hydrolysis to give Fe(OH)3(S) (Can ~ izares et al., 2007;
applications (Moreno et al., 2009). Therefore, it is crucial that re-
Mollah et al., 2004).
searchers focus more on the study of the kinetics of the process and
Lakshmanan et al. (2009) performed an experimental analysis of
mathematical modeling in order to develop a deep understanding
the species formed during iron electrocoagulation at different pH
of the mechanism of EC technology.
ranges to validate the findings reported in the literature. The results
Another major challenge that the technology is likely to
revealed that iron electrolysis leads to the formation of Fe2þ which
encounter is that of high electricity consumption while treating the
then undergoes oxidation in presence of dissolved oxygen and
wastewater as it directly affects the operating costs. Therefore, the
suitable pH to form Fe3þ that is finally hydrolyzed to form insoluble
success of this technology will depend on its ability to satisfy
Fe(OH)3(S)/FeOOH(S). During EC, the production of OH ions at the
commercial criteria such as minimizing operational and mainte-
cathode temporally elevates the pH before it gets consumed by the
nance costs and achieving profit on the investment made in the
Fe2þ generated at the anode, which speeds up the rate of Fe2þ
shortest time possible. The technology also faces strong competi-
oxidation to Fe3þ. pH then decreases as OH ions are consumed at
tion from the existing well-established water treatment technolo-
the anode. It was also found that at relatively low pH (6.5e7.5) the
gies such as adsorption, biotechnology and membrane
rate of Fe2þ oxidation and hydrolysis is slow which results in an
technologies. Integration of EC technology with the existing tech-
increase in the solution pH and formation of a mixture of soluble
nologies would improve its chances of success.
ferrous ions and insoluble Fe(OH)3(S)/FeOOH(S). When the pH be-
comes alkaline (around 8.5) complete oxidation of ferrous ions
8. Recent advances in EC technology
occurs and Fe(OH)3(S)/FeOOH(S) precipitates (Lakshmanan et al.,
2009).
Considerable efforts have been put in recent years to overcome
These results are in good agreement with the findings of other
the above-mentioned challenges and improve the practicality of EC
studies that ferrous ions are only oxidized to ferric ions if the pH is
as an effective water treatment technology. This section highlights
above 5 even though complete oxidation only occurs at pH of
some of these efforts.
around 8e9 (Vepsalainen, 2012; Gatsios et al., 2015; Malakootian
et al., 2010; Linares-Herna ndez et al., 2009). At highly alkaline
8.1. Integrating EC units with existing technologies
pH, undesired FeðOHÞ 4 forms which is a weak coagulant and de-
teriorates EC performance (Vepsalainen, 2012; Lakshmanan et al.,
As mentioned earlier, integration of EC units with existing water
2009; Linares-Herna ndez et al., 2009). It is therefore concluded
treatment technologies is a major challenge. El-Naas et al. (2014),
that the optimum operating pH range of iron EC is 5e9 and oper- evaluated the performance of an EC cell integrated with a spouted
ation at an initial pH of 8e9 is favorable to ensure complete bed bioreactor and an adsorption packed column to treat highly
oxidation of ferrous ions which are known to be highly soluble, contaminated refinery wastewater. The best results were achieved
poor coagulants with no adsorption capacity of pollutants. when EC was used as a pretreatment step to reduce the contami-
nant loads prior to the following treatment steps. El-Naas et al.
6.6. Electrode material (2014) took their novel design to the next step where they upgra-
ded the bench scale units into a pilot scale plant with a 1.5 m3/h
Selecting the proper electrode material is critical since it capacity. The EC unit was supplied by Powell water systems, Inc.
36 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41
which has over 25 years of experience in EC and wastewater
treatment (El-Naas et al., 2014).
Modenes et al. (2012) studied the treatment of tannery indus-
trial effluent with an integrated photo-Fenton and electro-
coagulation process. First, a full 33 factorial experimental design
(FED) was applied to optimize the photo-Fenton process conditions.
Then the effluent of the photo-Fenton process was treated using
bench scale EC reactor with aluminum electrodes. The results
showed that the proposed integrated process achieves better
removal of organic and inorganic pollutants and generates less
sludge compared to the conventional treatment method that
combines filtration, chemical coagulation and sedimentation.
Moreover, the integrated process proved to be an economically
attractive alternative with minimum environmental impact.
Manenti et al. (2014) proposed a multistage process composed
of electrocoagulation (using iron electrodes), photo-Fenton and
activated sludge biological reactor for the treatment of real textile
wastewater. The performance of the integrated system was
assessed based on the dissolved organic carbon, chemical oxygen
demand and biodegradability index. Using electrocoagulation as
the first treatment step reduced the COD content by 36% then the
effluent of EC was treated using photo-Fenton method which
resulted in a 65% relative COD reduction and more than 70%
biodegradability index. The final stage was the bioreactor which
treated the effluent from the Photo-Fenton process and was able to
achieve a COD concentration within the allowable environmental
legalization limit.
Bani-Melhem and Smith (2012) investigated the effectiveness of
integrating an electrocoagulation unit that uses aluminum elec-
trodes with a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) to treat
grey water and compared the results with a standalone SMBR
process. The results of the analysis showed that the integrated EC-
SMBR process slightly enhances the removal percentage of
turbidity, color and COD compared to the standalone SMBR and
both processes where found to achieve 100% removal of suspended
solids and fecal coliforms. Using EC as a pretreatment step before
the SMBR not only enhanced the removal of pollutants but also
reduced the membrane fouling by almost 13%.
Deghles and Kurt (2016) used a hybrid electrocoagulation/
electrodialysis process to treat tannery effluent. The authors have
optimized the electrocoagulation process by controlling various
process parameters and then the effluent from electrocoagulation
process was further treated using electrodialysis. The electro-
coagulation unit used five pairs of electrodes (iron or aluminum) in
monopolar parallel mode. A bipolar membrane electrodialysis with
platinized titanium electrode as anode and cathode in a pilot scale
was then used to treat electrocoagulation effluent. The results
showed that using hybrid electrodialysis/electrocoagulation with
iron electrodes achieved a removal efficiency of 87% COD, 100%
NH3-N, 100% Cr and 100% color. On the other hand, using hybrid
electrodialysis/electrocoagulation with aluminum electrodes ach-
ieved a removal efficiency of 92% COD, 100% NH3-N, 100% Cr and
100% color.
Bazrafshan et al. (2016) combined chemical coagulation, elec-
trocoagulation and adsorption for treating real textile wastewater
in a pilot scale study. Chemical coagulation was performed using
poly aluminum chloride “PAC” as coagulant followed by electro-
cogulation with four aluminum electrodes in a bipolar parallel
connection mode and finally adsorption using pistachio nut shell
ash was used to meet the required standards. The outcome of the
study showed that a reduction of 40% for COD, 34% for BOD5, 23.7%
for TSS and 44.5% for dyes was achieved after chemical coagulation.
The output of chemical coagulation was further treated by elec-
trocoagulation which resulted in a 93.1%, 88.8% and 98.6% removal
of COD, BOD5 and dyes, respectively. The overall removal efficiency
after combining adsorption as well was 98%, 94.2% and 99.9% for
COD, BOD5, and dyes.
Hasan and El-Naas (2016) examined the effectiveness of elec-
trocoagulation for the simultaneous treatment of carbide slurry and
carbon dioxide capture. The authors used a mixture of 10% carbon
dioxide in air to enhance mixing and capture carbon dioxide as
well. Experimental results revealed that at optimum conditions 42%
COD, 75% TH and 74% TDS reduction was achieved. In addition, the
maximum carbon capture efficiency was 84%.
8.2. Kinetics and modeling of EC
Yılmaz et al. (2008) studied the effect of various operating pa-
rameters on the removal of boron from synthetic wastewater using
batch EC reactor after that, the results of the experiments were
used to predict the kinetics of boron removal using heterogeneous
fluidesolid reaction models where the analysis showed that the
kinetics followed a pseudo second order model:
dXB
¼ kð1  XB Þ (9)
dt
Where “XB “is the boron removal fraction and “k” is the second
order rate constant.
In order to develop a mathematical model that includes all
operating parameters in the rate equation, Yılmaz et al. (2008)
examined the relationship between k and each operating param-
eter and came up with the following relationship:
K ¼ ½OH*½C  3:45*½CD7:79*½S  3:65*kt (10)
Where [OH] represents the effect of solution pH, [C] is the boron
concentration, [CD] is the current density, [S] is the stirring speed
and kt is the rate constant that depends on temperature only and
could be expressed by the Arrhenius equation. Activation energy
and Arrhenius constant were obtained from a plot of kt vs. 1/T as
30,668 J/mol and 18,241 1/s. Finally, the rate equation as a function
of all examined operating parameters was expressed by the
following mathematical model (Yılmaz et al., 2008):
XB =ð1  XB Þ ¼ 18241*½OH*½C  3:45*½CD7:79*½t1:41*½S
 3:65*exp½30668=R*T
(11)
The predicted values from this model agreed very well with the
experimental results.
Balasubramanian et al. (2009) investigated the removal of
arsenic from aqueous solution using batch EC reactor with Al
electrodes. In their paper, response surface methodology (RSM)
was used to predict the combined effects of operating parameters
on the percent of arsenic removal. The three-level complete-
factorial Box-Behenken method was used to develop the experi-
mental design and the following mathematical model that predicts
the effect of operating parameters on arsenic removal was
developed:
%As  r ¼ 51:6667 þ 8:33a  6:5b þ 17:9167c þ 3:4167d
þ 3:667a2  5:5833b2  4:9583c2  6:4583d2
 1:75ab  5:75ac  0:5ad  7:25bc  5bd þ 4:75cd
(12)
where a is the current density, b is the arsenic concertation, c is the
electrolysis time and d is the electrolyte pH.
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41 37

Balasubramanian et al. (2009) also examined the mechanism of Hu et al. (2007) came up with the following equation known as the
arsenic removal by EC using two different adsorption isotherms; variable order kinetic model.
Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Langmuir isotherm assumes    
monolayer deposition of adsorbate on homogenous adsorbent d F  Gmax k F  nI
¼ εAl εc   (19)
surface and follows the following equation: dt 1 þ k F  ZFV

Kl Ce Where “εc” is the current efficiency, “n” is the number of cells, “I”
qe ¼ (13) is the applied current, “Z” is the valence of metal electrode, “F” is
1 þ al Ce
the Faraday's constant and “V” is the volume of the solution.
where “qe” is the amount of arsenic adsorbed at equilibrium, “Kl” is It could be seen that the rate of defluoridation follows 1st order
the binding constant, “al“is the sorbent capacity and “Ce” is the kinetics if 1/k » [F-] and zero order kinetics if 1/k « [F-]. The
equilibrium concentration of arsenic. developed model was able to precisely describe the performance of
On the other hand, Freundlich isotherm is an empirical model defluoridation of the solution by EC and predict the effect of initial
that gives a relation between adsorption intensity of adsorbate and fluoride concentration, initial acidity and applied current. However,
absorbent as follows: the model couldn't simulate the defluoridation process in a system
where the initial acidity of the solution is less than the initial
b fluoride concentration due to the dramatic change of pH along with
qe ¼ Kf Ce f (14)
the appearance of equivalence point in the titration curves as
where Kf and bf are constants representing adsorption capacity and claimed by the authors.
adsorption intensity.
The results of the analysis showed that the adsorption of arsenic 8.3. Cell design and process enhancement
follows a monolayer adsorption and is best represented by the
Langmuir isotherm model. Over the past years, efforts have been put to enhance the design
Similarly, Khatibikamal et al. (2010) studied the adsorption ki- of electrocoagulation reactors aiming to achieve higher efficiency
netics of fluoride removal from treated industrial wastewater from and removal rates. This section highlights some of these efforts.
steel industry using a batch EC reactor with aluminum electrodes. Ni'am and Othman (2014) investigated the effectiveness of
First and second order Lagergran models were used to analyze the integrating magnetic fields with EC to enhance the removal and
adsorption kinetics of the process where the analysis proved that sedimentation of suspended solids from wastewater. An electro-
adsorption of fluoride follows second order kinetic model coagulation unit with 15 monopolar iron plate electrodes arranged
expressed by the following relations: as baffles was used along with a permanent magnet “AlNiCo” with
magnetic strength 0.16T placed under the reactor. The removal of
1 1 suspended solids was optimized using response surface method-
¼ þ k2 t (15)
qe  q q ology “RSM” where the removal efficiency exceeded 92% at opti-
mum conditions compared to 85.9% before applying the magnetic
t 1 t fields.
¼ þ (16)
q k2 q2e qe Hamdan and El-Naas (2014a) used an innovative electro-
coagulation column to treat groundwater to be within drinking
where “qe” is the amount of fluoride adsorbed at equilibrium, “k2” water limits. Iron was used for both electrodes with a rod anode
is the rate constant of second order adsorption and “q“ is the and a helical cathode inside a Plexiglas column operated in a
amount of fluoride adsorbed at time t. continuous mode, with air mixing. At optimum conditions, 100%
Hu et al. (2007) derived a variable order kinetic model from chromium removal was achieved at a minimum power consump-
Langmuir equation to understand the kinetics of fluoride removal tion of 0.75 kWh/m3. In a similar study, Kobya et al. (2015)
from synthetic solutions by EC using aluminum electrodes and compared the performance of two different electrocoagulation
examine the effects of initial fluoride concentration, applied cur- reactors in terms of the removal efficiency of arsenic from
rent and initial acidity on the kinetics of the process. Considering groundwater and operating costs. The first reactor used a cylin-
the defluoridation by aluminum flocs as an ion exchange process drical titanium cathode inside a Plexiglas cylinder, the cathode
that could be described by the following Langmuir equation: cylinder was filled with iron ball anode and another stainless steel
  rod was immersed in the iron balls to supply DC current when
Gmax k F  connected to an outer power supply. The second reactor consisted
G¼   (17) of two plate anodes and two plate cathodes both made of iron and
1 þ k F
connected in a monopolar parallel mode inside a Plexiglas cylinder.
where “G” is the mole of removed fluoride ions per mole aluminum Air was supplied from the base of the two reactors to enhance
ions at equilibrium, “k” is the Langmuir constant and “[F]” is the mixing. The results revealed that at optimum conditions, the first
fluoride concentration. reactor setup achieved 99.3% arsenic removal at an operating cost
And assuming that all the aluminum ions released are of 1.55$/m3 while the second setup achieved 96.9% arsenic removal
consumed to form fluoride precipitates according to the following at an operating cost of 0.1$/m3.
equation: El-Ashtoukhy et al. (2009) studied the effectiveness of a novel
electrocoagulation reactor to treat paper mill effluents. The reactor
 
d F  d½AlT was made of a mechanically agitated cylindrical Plexiglas vessel
¼ εAl G (18) with four baffles fixed at the inner wall of the vessel. The vessel was
dt dt
lined with lead sheet as the anode and a concentric stainless steel
where “εAl” is the efficiency of hydro-fluoro-aluminum formation cylindrical screen as the cathode. The maximum COD and color
(fluoride precipitates) and “[Al]T” is the total aluminum released removal achieved was 97% & 100% respectively while the minimum
form the anode. operating cost was 4 kWh/m3.
Finally, integrating faraday's law with the two equations above, Abdelwahab et al. (2009) examined the suitability of
38 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41
electrocoagulation to remove phenol from real oil refinery effluent
by using horizontally oriented aluminum electrodes inside a rect-
angular Plexiglas container. The horizontal plate cathode was
placed at the bottom of the reactor with a single screen “mesh” or
an array of closely spaced aluminum screens on top acting as the
anode. The authors claim that using an array of aluminum screens
as the anode increases its lifetime. At optimum experimental con-
ditions, 94.5% phenol removal was achieved.
El-Ashtoukhy et al. (2013) modified the cell design proposed by
Abdelwahab et al. (2009) to enhance the removal of phenolic
compounds from oil refinery wastewater where they used a packed
bed electrocoagulation reactor. The new reactor design consists of
aluminum raschig rings randomly packed inside a perforated
plastic container on top of a horizontal cathode. 100% removal of
phenol was achieved at optimum conditions with lower operating
cost which proves that the new packed bed reactor is more efficient
than the previous reactor.
Chaudhary and Sahu (2013) used a unique electrocoagulation
reactor operated in a semi continuous mode to treat real sugar mill
wastewater. The reactor composed of an aluminum cylinder oper-
ated as the cathode and the outer body of the reactor as well with
three aluminum rods at the center of the cathode acting as the
anode. For better mixing in the reactor, two baffle sheets fixed at
the reactor inner wall were also used. In order to enhance the ef-
ficiency of COD removal, polyelectrolytes were used as coagulant
aids where 80% COD removal was reached compared to 76% before
using electrolytes. Although using polyelectrolytes enhances the
performance of electrocoagulation, it leaves the process with the
same disadvantages of chemical coagulation since it becomes an
additive process.
Vivek Narayanan and Ganesan (2009) proposed a stirred batch
electrocoagulation reactor coupled with adsorption with granular
activated carbon to treat synthetic wastewater containing hex-
avalent chromium. The electrocoagulation cell used an aluminum
plate cathode and iron plate anode. Using the coupled electro-
coagulation and adsorption process significantly enhanced chro-
mium removal rates in shorter operating time and lower current
density compared to conventional electrocoagulation process. The
highest chromium removal efficiency at optimum conditions ob-
tained using the coupled process was 97%.
Mountassir et al. (2015) used a hybrid electrocoagulation and
adsorption process using clay particles to treat textile wastewater. A
basic electrocoagulation Pyrex reactor was used with single cath-
ode and anode aluminum plates. The authors reported the same
results as Vivek Narayanan and Ganesan (2009) where clay parti-
cles increased the rate of pollutant removal in shorter operating
time and lower current density compared to conventional elec-
trocoagulation. Using clay particles improves bridging between
particles and the flocs formed are larger, denser and easily
settleable.
Can et al. (2006) investigated the effect of combining electro-
coagulation with chemical coagulation using polyaluminum chlo-
ride or alum as coagulant aids to treat textile wastewater. The
reactor was made of Plexiglas with two aluminum anodes and two
cathodes connected in a monopolar mode. The results revealed that
using polyaluminum chloride salt along with electrocoagulation
significantly increase COD removal to reach 80% compared to 23%
with electrocoagulation only in just five minutes of operation. It is
worth mentioning that the operating cost was also decreased due
to the lower electrical energy consumption in case of the combined
process.
9. Scale up of EC units for industrial scale applications
After several years of extensive research on EC technology,
various commercial EC units became available in the market for
industrial use over the past years, but still did not resolve the
problems associated with the unreliable/short lifetime of the unit
and high operating costs. F&T water solutions, a company that
manufactures EC units with capacities ranging from 2 to 1000 GPM
either fixed or portable units with the option of complete auto-
mation claims that their latest technology “Variable Electro Pre-
cipitator- VEP” overcomes the deficiencies of existing EC units. They
use an enhanced flow path designed to achieve maximum reten-
tion time and instead of wet electrode connections, external con-
nections are used to avoid overheating and failure of the reactor.
The VEP EC units were tested for different industrial applications
with different capacities, electrode connections and power where
the results of these case studies prove them reliable (F&T water
solutions).
Another example from industry is the Santa Clara Wastewater
(SCWW), a private company located in Ventura County and Cali-
fornia, they have been treating non-hazardous wastewater streams
from a wide range of industries for over 40 years. Recently SCWW
upgraded their facility to include EC units to replace traditional
chemical precipitation technique. In the case of chemical precipi-
tation, chemicals were added to physically remove pollutants
(suspended and dissolved solids) through filtration, SCWW was
spending 100,000 $ on chemical additives on a monthly basis for
the removal of heavy metals only. After installing EC units, SCWW
cut down the cost of chemicals per month to 10,000 $ without
compensating the quality of treated water. In addition to the
remarkable reduction in operating cost, EC was found to decrease
sludge generation by 90%. It is worth mentioning that EC unit
require smaller footprint since it's capable of removing various
contaminants in a single reactor compared to traditional methods
that would require a specific equipment to target the removal of
each pollutant separately (Natural systems, environmental
technology services).
10. Cost analysis of electrocoagulation
The claimed high operating cost of electrocoagulation acts as a
major disadvantage of the technology and renders it impractical for
large industrial applications. The published literature lacks the
optimization and assessment of electrocoagulation operating cost
where only few papers analyzed the cost of electrocoagulation.
Bayramoglu et al. (2007) performed an economic analysis for
the treatment of textile wastewater by electrocoagulation. The total
operating cost including energy consumption, electrode material,
labor, sludge handling, maintenance and depreciation costs for a
chemical plant treating 1000 m3/day of wastewater was calculated
for different electrode materials (Fe or Al) different connection
modes, operating time, pH and current density. The results showed
that monopolar parallel connection with iron electrodes at 30 A/m2
current density, pH of 7 and 15 min operating time was the most
cost effective option with 0.25 $/m3. The authors also compared the
cost of electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation for treating the
same wastewater and found that chemical coagulation cost was 3.2
times higher than electrocoagulation.
Khaled et al. investigated the effect of various reactor design
parameters on the efficiency and operating cost of electro-
coagulation that targets the removal of cadmium from wastewater.
The parameters investigated were distance between the electrodes,
electrode connection mode, stirring speed, surface area to volume
ratio (S/V) and initial temperature. Operating cost in this study was
defined as the cost of electrodes (Aluminum), electrical energy and
the cost of chemicals added for pH adjustment. The investigation
revealed that 100% cadmium removal was achieved with very low
power consumption and minimum operating cost of 0.116 TND
 D.T. Moussa et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 186 (2017) 24e41
(Tunisian National Dinar, equivalent to 0.06 USD) at the optimum
conditions of 0.5 cm inter-electrode gap, 50 C initial temperature,
300 revolution/min stirring speed, 13.5 S/V ratio and monopolar
connection mode. The authors also reported the cost of chemical
coagulation of the same process as 4.36 TND (2.1 USD) which shows
that electrocoagulation is much more cost effective.
Rodriguez et al. (2007) performed a techno-economic analysis
for the treatment of metallurgic wastewater using electro-
coagulation and chemical coagulation. Comparison of the results
proved that for the same flowrate of wastewater (110 m3/y) the
energy cost of electrocoagulation was 220 V/y (246.4 USD) while
chemical coagulation was 106 V/y (118.7 USD) which is not sur-
prising as electrocoagulation consumes electricity. On the other
hand, the material cost for electrocoagulation was 440 V/y (492.8
USD) compared to 1100 V/y (1232 USD) which is also reasonable
since chemical coagulation consumes large quantities of coagulant
aids. From this comparison it could be seen that the total treatment
cost for electrocoagulation (660 V/y, 739 USD) is much less than
chemical coagulation (1206 V/y, 1350.8 USD).
Kobya and Demirbas (2015) evaluated the effect of different
parameters on the efficiency and operating cost of electro-
coagulation to treat can manufacturing wastewater. At the opti-
mum operating conditions of current density 20 A/m2, operating
time 40 min and monopolar parallel connection mode using
aluminum electrodes, the operating cost was found to be 0.366 V/
m3 (0.41 USD) of wastewater. Operating cost included the energy
cost as well as the cost of electrode material.
Kobya et al. (2016) assessed the operating cost of treating real
dye house wastewater with continuous flow electrocoagulation,
operating cost was expressed as energy cost, electrode cost and
chemical consumption cost. The authors found that at the optimum
operating conditions of 80 min operating time, 65 A/m2 current
density and 0.010 L/min flowrate, the cost using aluminum elec-
trode was 1.851 $/m3 compared to 1.562 $/m3 using iron electrode.
Lin et al. (2005) designed and constructed a pilot-scale elec-
trocoagulation unit to reclaim domestic grey water onsite for hu-
man non-contact use with a capacity of 28 m3/day. At optimum
conditions, the total cost of the unit was 0.27 $/m3 which includes
the capital and operational costs (0.08 & 0.19 $/m3). The operating
cost covers the energy cost, electrode cost, chemicals consumed
and sludge treatment. The authors revealed that the unit cost and
required area (8 m2) are lower than the values reported in
literature.
~ ones et al. (2009) studied the effectiveness of
Espinoza-Quin
electrocoagulation in treatment of tannery wastewater. The
experimental results showed that electrocoagulation is more cost-
effective than conventional method and achieves the desired
removal efficiencies. The cost of electrocoagulation was 1.7 $/m3 of
treated effluent compared to 3.5$/m3 using conventional method.
11. Summary
Electrocoagulation (EC) is based on destabilizing colloidal par-
ticles by introducing counter electric charges to the solution; the
concept is basically the same as chemical coagulation/flocculation
(CC/CF) with the only difference being the coagulant delivery
method. In CC/CF metal salts/polymers are added which dissolves
in water causing the colloidal particles to aggregate and form flocs;
whereas, EC uses electrochemical dissolution of metal electrodes.
The fact that EC offers an interesting technology for water and
wastewater treatment could not be denied as it offers several ad-
vantages over conventional coagulation/flocculation methods.
However, the technology is not yet fully tuned and optimized and
requires extensive research to introduce this technology worldwide
39
as a reliable water treatment technology. Future researchers need
to establish new areas other than the current research activities
that are pollutant oriented and focusing only on the optimization of
operating parameters to achieve optimum removal of a specific
contaminant in a bench scale experiment. One of the major issues
that needs to be tackled is developing a more systematic approach
for EC reactor design, operation and modeling the behavior of the
reactor to be able to predict the performance prior to actual oper-
ation (Holt et al., 2005). Having such models will facilitate the
scaling up of bench-scale reactors to meet industrial capacity.
Another issue that must be addressed in future research is
assessment of the economic feasibility of EC operation. The overall
cost of wastewater treatment using EC (operating and capital in-
vestment costs) must be estimated, as it is a major criterion for
industry when choosing the desired treatment technology. More-
over, the majority of EC studies were performed using small-scale
batch reactors, whereas most industrial applications require
continuous flow mode. Hence, more research is required to eval-
uate the performance of EC units operating in continuous flow
mode with more effective reactor design. Future research should
also consider new potential areas of EC application such as pro-
duced water treatment, which is a major challenge for the Oil and
Gas industry. EC can play a key role in produced water treatment,
especially in destabilizing tight emulsions.
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Nomenclature
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand (mg/l)
CC: Chemical Coagulation
COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand (mg/l)
DOC: Dissolved Organic Carbon (mg/l)
EC: Electrocoagulation
FC: Fecal Coliform (MPN: Most Probable Number)
SS: Suspended Solids (mg/l)
TDS: Total Dissolved Solids (mg/l)
TFS: Total Fixed Solids (mg/l)
TN: Total nitrogen (mg/l)
TOC: Total Organic Carbon (mg/l)
TP: Total Phosphorus (mg/l)
TPH: Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (mg/l)
TS: Total solids (mg/l)
TSS: Total Suspended solids (mg/l)
TVS: Total Volatile Solids (mg/l)