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Background and Objectives: Phenol is one of the most important organic chemicals
presenting in water and other environments. It not only brings about hygienic
problems but also results in forming 11 toxic priority pollutants in aqueous
environments. Hence, the performance of electrocoagulation process using iron
and aluminum sacrificial anodes was investigated for removal of phenol.
Materials and Methods: We used a glass tank in 1.56 L volume (effective volume 1 L) equipped with four
iron and aluminum plate electrodes to do experiments (bipolar mode). The tank
was filled with synthetic wastewater containing phenol in concentration of 5,
20, 40, and 70 mg/l and to follow the progress of the treatment, each sample
was taken at 20 min intervals for up to 80 min. The percent of phenol removal
was measured at pH 3, 5, 7, and 9 electrical potential range of 20, 40, and 60
volts and electrical conductivity of 1000, 1500, 2000, and 3000 µs/cm.
Results: It was found
that the most effective removal capacities of phenol (95 and 98 %) could be
achieved when the pH was kept 7 and 5 for iron and aluminum electrodes,
reaction time 80 min, electrical
conductivity 3000 µs/cm, initial concentration of phenol 5 mg/l, and electrical
potential in the range of 20-60 V.
Conclusion: The method
was found to be highly efficient and relatively fast compared with existing
conventional techniques and also it can be concluded that the electrochemical
process has the potential to be utilized for the cost-effective removal of
phenol from water and wastewater.
