Electrocoagulation treatment of municipal wastewater in Torreon Mexico

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment Vol. 51; no. 13-15; pp. 2710 - 2717
• Main Authors: Moreno, Hector, Parga, José R., Gomes, Andrew Jewel, Rodríguez, Mario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: L'Aquila Elsevier Inc 01-03-2013; Desalination Publications
• Subjects: Anodizing; Applied sciences; CFU; COD; Contaminants; Crack opening displacement; Drinking water; Electrocoagulation; Exact sciences and technology; Municipal wastewater; Other wastewaters; Oxygen demand; Pollution; Waste water; Wastewater treatment; Wastewaters; Wastewaters reuse. Miscellaneous; Water treatment and pollution; Central America; Mexico; America; COD; Electrocoagulation; CFU; Municipal wastewater; Drinking water; Water treatment; Cationic resin; Microbiology; Water resource management; Developing countries; Waste management; Upgrading; Water quality; Waste reuse; Urban waste water; Physicochemical purification; Waste water purification; Resource management; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 1944-3986; 1944-3994; 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.1080/19443994.2012.749366

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.