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Elimination of dissolved Fe3+ ions from water by electrocoagulation

  • Original Paper: Nano-structured materials (particles, fibers, colloids, composites, etc.)
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Abstract

Electrocoagulation (EC) was applied for elimination of dissolved Fe3+ ions from model contaminated water. Electrochemical experiments were performed using a coagulation set-up with the volume of storage tank of 50 L. To represent inorganic contamination, FeCl3·6H2O was chosen as a model pollutant; its concentration was equal to 50 mg/L. Experiments were carried out by circulating model effluent (1 pass) through the cell at a flow rate (40 L/h) whilst operating the power supply in galvanostatic mode. Dosing concentration was varying by changing the input current between set points and holding for sufficient time for steady state to be reached and for a sample to be collected. The process using the steel electrode reached removal efficiency up to 99%, depending on pH, and proved to be very suitable for elimination of dissolved Fe3+ ions from water. However, electrochemical experiments using the aluminum electrode reached removal efficiency only up to 25%. The different efficiency of two anodes is probably due to lower adsorption capacity of hydrous aluminum oxide for iron ions in comparison to hydrous ferric oxides. Produced nanostructured flocs were subsequently filtered, dried, and characterized by N2 physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Obtained characteristics synchronously demonstrate different tendencies of Al and Fe nanostructured flocs.

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Acknowledgements

The financial support of Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (project No.: TA04020130) is gratefully acknowledged. Part of the work was financed by Research Infrastructure NanoEnviCZ (project No.: LM2015073).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the ASCR, v.v.i., Rozvojova 135, 165 00, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jana Gaalova, Pavel Krystynik, Pavel Dytrych & Petr Kluson

  2. Faculty of Environment, University of J. E. Purkyne, Kralova vysina 7, 400 96, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic

    Pavel Krystynik

  3. Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Benatska 2, 128 01, Prague 2, Czech Republic

    Petr Kluson

Authors
  1. Jana Gaalova
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  2. Pavel Krystynik
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Correspondence to Jana Gaalova.

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Highlights

  • Electrochemical production of nanostructured flocs

  • Iron removal by electrocoagulation

  • Textural and imaging characterization

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Gaalova, J., Krystynik, P., Dytrych, P. et al. Elimination of dissolved Fe3+ ions from water by electrocoagulation. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 88, 49–56 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4669-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-018-4669-z

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