Optimization of electrochemical removal of metal pollution from aqueous solution

Abstract

Manganese (Mn) is expected in the majority of freshwater sources due to the wide usage of this element in many industries, such as steel and battery industries, where its concentration in some water bodies could exceed 9600 μg/L. High concentrations of Mn cause many diseases such as Parkinsonism, and lung diseases. The present investigation explores an electrocoagulation unit to remove manganese from water. The electrodes of the electrocoagulation unit are made from iron and aluminium (iron anode, and aluminium cathode). This cell is employed to remediate water samples with 2000 μg/L of manganese. The impacts of many different operating factors, specifically the initial pHs, electric currents, and distances between electrodes, on manganese removals was tested to attend the best performance of manganese removal. The central composite method was applied for the optimization of the operating conditions. Additionally, the estimated power consumption was calculated under the optimum conditions. The outcomes of this investigation revealed that at initial pH of 6.0, the current density of 0.5 mA/cm², and inter-electrode distances of 5 mm, the maximum manganese removal efficiency (97.2 %) was achieved. Additionally, the reuired power consumption was 3.2 kWh/m³, while the operating cost was £0.48 per m³.