Electroprecipitation Mechanism Enabling Silica and Hardness Removal through Aluminum-Based Electrocoagulation

Liu, Yu-Hsuan; Bootwala, Yousuf Z.; Jang, Gyoung Gug; Keum, Jong K.; Khor, Chia Miang; Hoek, Eric V.; Jassby, David; Tsouris, Costas; Mothersbaugh, Jim; Hatzell, Marta C.

doi:10.1021/acsestengg.1c00433

Electroprecipitation Mechanism Enabling Silica and Hardness Removal through Aluminum-Based Electrocoagulation

Journal Article · Thu Feb 10 23:00:00 EST 2022 · ACS ES&T Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestengg.1c00433· OSTI ID:1876263

Liu, Yu-Hsuan ^[1]; Bootwala, Yousuf Z. ^[1]; ^[2]; Keum, Jong K. ^[3]; Khor, Chia Miang ^[4]; ^[5]; ^[5]; ^[2]; Mothersbaugh, Jim ^[6]; ^[1]

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Water Tectonics, Everett, WA (United States)

We evaluate the effectiveness of an aluminum-based electrocoagulation pretreatment system to remove dissolved silica and hardness. Silica and hardness limit water recovery during membrane-based desalination applications when silica and hardness exceed the solubility limit and generate scale on the membrane surface. We show that simultaneous removal of nearly all silica (95 ± 4%) and a significant amount of hardness (40–60%) occurs with a hydraulic residence time of 2 h and a charge loading between 0 and 1200 C/L. Increasing the residence time maximized the hardness removal (58 ± 8%) via the formation of larger flocs, which allowed for more constituent removal by gravity settling. We highlight the trade-offs between improved energy efficiency at lower charge loadings and an improved removal rate at a higher charge loading. We further compare the percentage of silica and hardness removed in multicomponent solutions and compare this to single component feed solution. We discuss the implications that operational considerations have in terms of cost and treatment capacity. Finally, a cost–benefit analysis comparing chemical coagulation with electrocoagulation indicates that electrocoagulation could be half the cost of chemical coagulation and could produce more stable effluent pH and conductivity.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office; National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1876263

Journal Information:: ACS ES&T Engineering, Journal Name: ACS ES&T Engineering Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 2; ISSN 2690-0645

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
42 ENGINEERING
Electrochemical water treatment
aluminum electro-coagulation
charge loading
hardness
silica

Electroprecipitation Mechanism Enabling Silica and Hardness Removal through Aluminum-Based Electrocoagulation

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