Sulfate removal from wastewater using electrocoagulation process: evaluation of effective parameters and costs

Presence of high concentration of sulfate in water as a chemical pollutant can cause various health problems such as diarrhea, taste, and odor. The sulfate could have adverse effect on industrial wastewater treatment such as anaerobic processes. Furthermore, sulfate is the main cause of pipes corrosion in water and wastewater systems. In this study, electro-coagulation process is considered as an environmentally friendly and high-performance process for the removal of sulfate from aqueous solutions.

In this experimental study, the electrocoagulation process was applied for sulfate removal from synthetic wastewater. The effect of various variables including contact time, the solution pH, initial concentration of sulfate, current density, and economic evaluation based on energy expenditure in Iran and the European countries have been evaluated. Turbidimetry method and combined sampling were utilized for determination of sulfate residual.

Results of this study showed that the efficiency of the system could be promoted by increasing the contact time, initial pH of the solution, and the applied current density. However, the efficiency of electro-coagulation process has decreased, when higher level of sulfate ions was presented in the aqueous phase.

The results of this study indicate that electro-coagulation process could be applied for the removal of sulfate from aqueous solution with a high efficiency.