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Phosphorus Removal from Wastewater by Electrocoagulation with Magnetized Iron Particle Anode

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Abstract

Phosphorus removal from wastewater is very important in order to prevent water eutrophication. Although there are many ways to remove phosphorus, electrocoagulation (EC) is a promising method. However, the efficiency of conventional EC processes needs to be further improved. In this study, magnetized iron particle anodes used for EC were fabricated and batch experiments were conducted. The results showed that magnetized anode configuration (iron powder, iron filings, iron sheet), current density (i), as well as electrolysis time had significant effects on phosphorus removal. Particle electrodes (e.g., iron powder) with both large specific surface area and high current density were beneficial for phosphorus removal. Simultaneously, anode magnetization could also enhance the phosphorus removal to some extent based on the effect of magnetic field (MF) on water characteristics (e.g., conductivity). Combining the advantages of particle electrode and MF, magnetized particle anode was superior to other electrodes in phosphorus removal and cell voltage maintenance. Compared with the conventional plate anode, the magnetized iron particle anode was more economical and could reduce operating cost by more than 50%. The results are useful for the practical application of phosphorus removal by EC.

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Funding

This work was financially funded by the National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project (2017ZX07202-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Xue Zhang, Xian-Qiu Zhang, Hui-Bo Yu, Hai-Liang Song & Ming-Xia Du

  2. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Xian-Qiu Zhang

  3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Material Circulation and Pollution Control, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Xian-Qiu Zhang

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  1. Xue Zhang
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Correspondence to Xian-Qiu Zhang.

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Zhang, X., Zhang, XQ., Yu, HB. et al. Phosphorus Removal from Wastewater by Electrocoagulation with Magnetized Iron Particle Anode. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 502 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04869-4

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