Electrocoagulation treatment of municipal wastewater in Torreon Mexico

Abstract

One of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century is to provide water, primarily potable, to the majority of the world population. This is a critical issue, especially in developing countries. One way to augment that effort is to reuse water. Currently, some emerging wastewater treatment technologies based on electrochemistry (e.g. electrocoagulation (EC), electroflotation, electrodecantation, and electrooxidation) are available that are competitive and advantageous over conventional technologies. Although EC has been known for more than a century, it has not been comprehensively studied. EC has been commercialized for the removal of specific contaminants and wastewater treatment. This work demonstrates EC as an alternative method for the treatment of municipal wastewater in Torreon; Coah, Mexico. COD value for wastewater in Torreon is considered as medium level (245 ppm). Experiments were conducted to determine the optimum operational conditions. Results show a remarkable removal efficiency for: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 77–94%; and also for coliforms 80%, and colony forming units (CFU) 99.98% within 30 s of residence time.

Keywords:

• Electrocoagulation
• COD
• CFU
• Municipal wastewater

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the support for this project by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) and by the Dirección General de Educación Superior Tecnológica (DGEST) from Mexico.