Electrocoagulation Studies on the Removal of Copper from Water Using Mild Steel Electrode

Abstract

This study provides an electrocoagulation process for the removal of copper from water using mild steel and stainless steel as anode and cathode, respectively. The effect of different operating parameters and coexisting ions on the removal efficiency of copper was investigated. The results showed that the optimum removal efficiency of 97.8% was achieved at a current density of 0.02 A/dm 2 and a pH of 7.0. The adsorption of copper, preferably fitting the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, suggests monolayer coverage of adsorbed molecules. First‐ and second‐order rate equations and Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models were applied to study adsorption kinetics. The adsorption process follows the second‐order kinetics model with good correlation. Temperature studies showed that adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous in nature.