title: Comparative study of humic acid removal and floc characteristics by electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation.
abstract: The current study aims at investigating the efficiency of electrocoagulation for the removal of humic acid from contaminated waters. In parallel, conventional chemical coagulation was conducted to asses humic acid removal patterns. The effect of varying contributing parameters (matrix pH, humic acid concentration, type of electrode (aluminum vs. iron), current density, solution conductivity, and distance between electrodes) was considered to optimize the electrocoagulation process for the best attainable humic acid removal efficiencies. Optimum removals were recorded at pH of 5.0-5.5, an electrical conductivity of 3000 μS/cm at 25 °C, and an electrode distance of 1 cm for both electrode types. With aluminum electrodes, a current density of 0.05 mA/cm2 outperformed 0.1 mA/cm2 yet not higher densities, whereas a current density of 0.8 mA/cm2 was needed for iron electrodes to exhibit comparable performance. With both electrode types, higher initial humic acid concentrations were removed at a slower rate but ultimately attained almost complete removals. On the other hand, the best humic acid removals (∼90%) by chemical coagulation were achieved at 4 mg/L for both coagulants. Also, higher removals were attained at elevated initial humic acid concentrations. Humic acid removals of 90% or higher at an initial HA concentration of 40 mg/L were exhibited, yet alum performed better at the highest experimented concentration. It was evident that iron flocs were larger, denser, and more geometrical in shape compared to aluminum flocs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon. lsemerjian@sharjah.ac.ae.|University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, UAE. lsemerjian@sharjah.ac.ae.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Semerjian
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Darine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Salam
mesh_terms: D000534:Alum Compounds; D000535:Aluminum; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D004566:Electrodes; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006812:Humic Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D007501:Iron; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000534:Alum Compounds; D006812:Humic Substances; C041524:aluminum sulfate; D000535:Aluminum; D007501:Iron
keywords: Aluminum electrodes; Chemical coagulation; Electrocoagulation; Floc characteristics; Humic acid; Iron electrodes