Electrocoagulation (EC) is a water treatment process in which water is given an electric charge from metal electrodes which causes substances in water to bond together for efficient removal. As water is becoming more scarce, EC is fast becoming a popular method for treating water, mostly because it is a very effective way to remove impurities from water without the use of chemicals.
Electrocoagulation Removes:
Hydrocarbons, Oxides, Emulsified Oils, Detergents, Chemicals, Clay, & Dyes.
During the EC process, the electrical current causes oxidation of an aluminum anode, creating Al3+ particles (shown in the following equations) that detach from the anode to form flocs.
Al → Al3+ + 3e− (at anode) (1)
3H2O + 3e− → 3
2H2 + 3OH− (at cathode) (2)
The positively charged flocs coagulate into larger particles by attracting and bonding with the resulting negatively charged ions that are suspended in the water. Through this reaction/process, larger particles are created from the previously dissolved solids (TDS) and suspended solids (TSS) that can then be removed through a filtration process.
Electrocoagulation systems use no chemicals, and have very low material and operating costs. The hardware that is the EC system replaces the recurring costs of buying and shipping Alum, and eliminates the labor aspects by generating its own flocculant in-situ through a method that requires no labor, and very little maintenance to operate.
A GWTec System can help any facility save water and lower expenses. For large water volumes (>500,000 GPD) , GWT will design and deliver a custom EC Systems to integrate within any existing facility design to remove Hydrocarbons, Oxides, Emulsified Oils, Detergents, Chemicals, Clay, & Dyes from the effluent water source. For smaller water volumes (ranging from 10 GPM - 400 GPM), GWT's patent pending dissolator EC System is the ready to use packaged system.
