Recent advances and perspective of electrocoagulation in the treatment of wastewater: A review

Over the last few decades, water pollution has become a major concern considering the adverse impact on environment and human health. Several methods and strategies have been investigated to the treatment of wastewater. Because of the introduction of more stringent pollution regulations and for sustainable development, recently EC has been shown as an emerging and alternative process to treat different types of wastewaters. This study represents a comprehensive review of reaction mechanisms for pollutants removal along with the operating parameters that need to be addressed for optimum application. The study demonstrated that the process has been applied effectively for the treatment of different types of industrial wastewaters as well as municipal and potable waters. In the case of treating highly contaminated wastewater, EC process is effective when it is used in combination with biological and/or other processes, and this combined treatment system can be considered as a potential treatment technology for recycling and reuse of effluents from diverse sources. This review also represents technological aspects of conversion of electrocoagulated sludge to valuable resources, H2 recovery, and the application of solar energy as an alternative source of electrical energy to apply the EC process more sustainably. Finally, this review highlighted some limitations with recommendations for promising research options that can make this technology more feasible for industrial applications.