Iron removal from brackish water by electrodialysis

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the removal of iron from brackish water using electrodialysis (ED). Experiments were carried out on synthetic brackish water solutions using a laboratory-scale ED cell. The influence of several parameters on process efficiency was studied. This efficiency is expressed by the removal rate, transport flux, current efficiency and power consumption. The applied voltage, the feed flow rate, the pH and iron initial concentration of the feed solution have a significant effect on the process efficiency and mainly on the iron transfer from dilute to concentrate compartment. Nevertheless, feed ionic strength does not have an effect on the iron removal. However, the effect is only noted on the specific power consumption.

Keywords:

• electrodialysis
• brackish water
• iron removal
• process efficiency

Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Pr Adel M'nif, Dr Halim Hammi and Mr Faouzi Mannai (National Center for Research in Materials Sciences) for their help in atomic absorption spectroscopy Analysis.

Authors are also thankful to Pr Amor HAFIANE (Center of Research and Technologies of Water) for his help in the experiment.