Removal of Microbeads from Wastewater Using Electrocoagulation

Perren, William, Wojtasik, Arkadiusz and Cai, Qiong (2018) Removal of Microbeads from Wastewater Using Electrocoagulation ACS Omega, 3 (3). pp. 3357-3364.

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Abstract

The need for better microplastic removal from wastewater streams is clear, to prevent potential harm the microplastic may cause to the marine life. This paper aims to investigate the efficacy of electrocoagulation (EC), a well-known and established process, in the unexplored context of microplastic removal from wastewater streams. This premise was investigated using artificial wastewater containing polyethylene microbeads of different concentrations. The wastewater was then tested in a 1 L stirred-tank batch reactor. The effects of the wastewater characteristics (initial pH, NaCl concentration, and current density) on removal efficiency were studied. Microbead removal efficiencies in excess of 90% were observed in all experiments, thus suggesting that EC is an effective method of removing microplastic contaminants from wastewater streams. Electrocoagulation was found to be effective with removal efficiencies in excess of 90%, over pH values ranging from 3 to 10. The optimum removal efficiency of 99.24% was found at a pH of 7.5. An economic evaluation of the reactor operating costs revealed that the optimum NaCl concentration in the reactor is between 0 and 2 g/L, mainly due to the reduced energy requirements linked to higher water conductivity. In regard to the current density, the specific mass removal rate (kg/kWh) was the highest for the lowest tested current density of 11 A/m2, indicating that low current density is more energy efficient for microbead removal.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences > Chemical and Process Engineering
Authors :	Name Email ORCID Perren, William Wojtasik, Arkadiusz Cai, Qiong q.cai@surrey.ac.uk
Date :	20 March 2018
DOI :	10.1021/acsomega.7b02037
Copyright Disclaimer :	Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society. ACS AuthorChoice - This is an open access article published under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial No Derivative Works (CC-BY-NC-ND) Attribution License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article, and creation of adaptations, all for non-commercial purposes.
Uncontrolled Keywords :	Waste management; Water purification
Depositing User :	Clive Harris
Date Deposited :	21 Sep 2018 07:32
Last Modified :	21 Sep 2018 07:32
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/849384

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