Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences

Optimization of electrocoagulation process for individual and simultaneous removal of cadmium and copper from simulated wastewater

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Hussein H. Alaydamee 1
Abdalrazzaq Abdzaid Alkaabi 1
Dhuha J. Hussein 1
Ali H. Abbar 2

1 Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Qadisiyah, 58002, Iraq

2 Department of Biochemical Engineering, Al-Khwarizmi College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, 10071, Iraq

10.30772/qjes.2024.146203.1126
Abstract
This study delves into electrocoagulation for removing copper and cadmium from synthetic water, exploring both individual and binary removal. Employing the Box‒Behnken design method, the research fine-tuned process operating factors including current density (10 to 50 mA/cm2), starting pH (3 to 7), and metal ion concentration (100 to 300 ppm). Optimal conditions for single-element systems yielded 99.02% copper removal (pH value of 5.63, current density value of 50 Am-2, copper concentration 100 ppm) and 98.45% cadmium removal (pH 6.15, current density 50 A/m2, cadmium concentration 124 ppm). Findings underscored the substantial current density impact on removal efficiency, surpassing the effect of pH and metal ion concentration. Notably, the current played a more pivotal role in cadmium removal than in copper removal. A robust R2 analysis of variance (98.85% for Cu and 99.50% for Cd) confirmed the satisfactory agreement between the second-order regression model and the experimental data, affirming the optimization validity of the electrocoagulation process. In binary systems, copper presence hindered cadmium removal, reducing efficiency from 63.63% to 50.91%. Conversely, the inhibitory effect on copper removal was comparatively lower due to copper's stronger selectivity towards Al(OH)3.

Keywords

Copper
Cadmium
Electrocoagulation
Response surface methodology
Wastewater
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Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences
Volume 17, Issue 4
Autumn 2024
Pages 363-370

  • Receive Date 23 February 2024
  • Revise Date 20 April 2024
  • Accept Date 20 June 2024

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