4178 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

2005, 44, 4178-4185

Electrodissolution of Aluminum Electrodes in Electrocoagulation

Processes

P. Cañizares, M. Carmona, J. Lobato, F. Martı́nez, and M. A. Rodrigo*

Department of Chemical Engineering, Facultad de Ciencias Quı́micas, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha,

Campus Universitario s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

The electrodissolution of aluminum electrodes in aqueous solutions containing sulfate or chloride

ions is studied in this work. The results obtained are important in order to obtain a better
understanding of the electrocoagulation process, as the electrodissolution of the anode surface
is its first step. It has been determined that both chemical and electrochemical dissolution play
an important role in the aluminum generation. The chemical dissolution of aluminum is strongly
influenced by the pH. Alkaline pHs increase the dissolution rate by orders of magnitude. Within
the experimental conditions used, the supporting media does not seem to influence greatly the
chemical dissolution process. The electrochemical dissolution process depends mainly on the
specific electrical charge passed. Salinity does not significantly affect the electrodissolution rate.
Good fittings between experimental and modeled data are obtained by modeling the system
with a simple model based on two assumptions: a highly segregated flow pattern and the
calculation of aluminium species and pH from a pseudoequilibrium approach.

Introduction
During the last few decades, electrochemical waste-
water treatment technologies have undergone rapid
development. One of these technologies is the electro-
chemically assisted coagulation that can compete with
the conventional chemical coagulation process in the
treatment of wastes polluted with colloids or macromol-
ecules or in the treatment of emulsions.1-8
Electrochemically assisted coagulation was seen as a
promising technology at the turn of the nineteenth
century, although it has received very little scientific
attention. In the following decades, plants were com-
missioned in the United States to treat municipal
wastewater. However, all such plants were abandoned
due to apparent higher operating costs and some
expectations of high initial capital costs as compared Figure 1. Main stages involved in the electrochemically assisted
to the case of chemical dosing. Recently, some works coagulation.
focused on the study of this technology have reported
promising results, and several firms have started to is often called electroflocculation. Finally, the pollutants
commercialize plants for treating actual wastes. Nev- are removed by sedimentation, filtration, or flotation
ertheless, to make this technology competitive with the from the waste. The bubbles formed in the oxygen and
conventional chemical coagulation process, more effort mainly in the hydrogen evolution can help to increase
has to be done in the next years, and a better under- the efficiency of the later process (electroflotation).11-16
standing of the processes involved must be achieved. Most works in the literature consider that the coagulant
The main stages involved in the electrochemically is obtained mainly by the electrodissolution of the anode
assisted coagulation are shown schematically in Figure surface, but recently, some authors17 have proposed
1.9-10 An electrochemical cell is used to provide alumi- that, to justify the electrocoagulation results, the chemi-
num or iron to the waste. These coagulant reagents cal dissolution of the electrodes should also be consid-
desestabilize the colloidal pollutants (or break the ered in this representation of the electrocoagulation
emulsion), similar to the case of a conventional coagula- process.
tion process. The turbulence generated by the oxygen The aim of this work is to study the electrodissolution
and the hydrogen evolution generates a soft mix that of the aluminum into wastes. The characterization of
helps the desestabilized colloids to flocculate (to link this first step is important in order to have a complete
together and to generate bigger particles). This process understanding of the electrochemical coagulation pro-
cess. To do this, the chemical dissolution of the alumi-
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: num sheets and the electrochemical dissolution has been
+34 902 20 41 00. Fax: +34 926 29 53 18. E-mail: - studied and a model that considers both chemical and
Manuel.Rodrigo@uclm.es. electrochemical processes is proposed.
10.1021/ie048858a CCC: $30.25 © 2005 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 05/13/2005

Figure 2. Layout of the bench-scale plant, including detail of the
electrochemical section.
Experimental Section
Experimental Devices. The electrochemical dis-
solution experiments have been carried out in a con-
tinuous bench-scale plant, with a single-compartment
electrochemical flow cell (Figure 2). Aluminum elec-
trodes (HE 18) were used as the anode and cathode.
Both electrodes were square in shape (100 mm sides)
with a geometric area of 100 cm2 each and with an
electrode gap of 9 mm. The electrical current was
applied using a DC Power Supply, FA-376 Promax. The
current flowing through the cell was measured with a
Keithley 2000 Digital Multimeter. The electrolyte was
stored in a 5000 mL glass tank stirred by an overhead
stainless steel rod stirrer, Heidolph RZR 2041, and
thermostatized by means of a water bath to maintain
the temperature at the desired set point, and circulated
through the electrolytic cell by a peristaltic pump.
Chemical dissolution experiments were carried out in
stirred batch reactors. To do this, a multistirrer device,
Isco, was used.
Experimental Procedure. Electrochemical dissolu-
tion experiments were carried out in the continuous-
operation bench-scale plant, under galvanostatic con-
ditions. The electrolyte was pumped into the cell and
collected in a tank. Samples were taken at the outlet of
the cell, and pH was measured using an inoLab WTW
pH meter. To determine the total aluminum concentra-
tion, samples were diluted 50:50 v/v with 4 N HNO3,
and after that, they were measured using a sequential
inductively coupled plasma spectrometer, Varian Lib-
erty, according to an standard method18 (plasma emis-
sion spectroscopy). Preparative experiments were car-
ried out to determine the amount of passed solution
required to reach the steady state. In every experiment,
this final state was tested. To determine the influence
of the passed electric current charge (I/Q), the flow rate
(Q) was maintained constant at 19.8 dm3 h-1 and the
employed current density was changed. The range of
the passed electrical charge studied was 0.0007-
0.0138 A h dm-3. To determine the influence of the pH,
the feeding solution pH was changed in the range 1-13.
To determine the influence of the current density, the
current density and the flow rate were changed simul-
taneously in order to obtain the same amount of passed
current charge. To test the influence of the supporting
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005 4179
Figure 3. Aluminum dissolved and pH variation during batch
chemical dissolution experiments carried out under nonalkaline
conditions: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 3; 0 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 3; 2 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 7; O 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 7.
electrolyte, aqueous solutions with chloride or sulfate
ions were tested. Prior to each experiment, the elec-
trodes were treated with a solution of 1.30 M HCl in
order to reject any effect due to the different prehistory
of the electrodes.
Chemical dissolution experiments were carried out in
a batch operation using stirred beakers. These beakers
were initially filled with the solution of chloride (or
sulfate), and a piece of aluminum was placed inside.
Samples were taken from the beakers, and the pH and
the aluminum were measured according to the methods
previously described. The aluminum dissolution rates
were calculated after fitting the experimental data
obtained in these essays to the mass balance equations
of this batch reactor. The initial and the final weights
of the aluminum piece were also used to confirm the
results.
Results and Discussion
Chemical Dissolution of Aluminum. Figures 3 and
4 show, for four different pHs, the aluminum dissolved
versus time in a batch reaction system when a sheet of
4 cm2 area (and 0.8 mm thickness) is placed into a
solution that contains sodium chloride or sodium sulfate.
These figures also show the pH variation with time in
each experiment.
It can be observed that, in all cases, a chemical
dissolution of the aluminum is obtained, with a linear
trend for all the experiments except for that correspond-
ing to pH 13, in which the concentration of aluminum
reached a final value due to the complete dissolution of
the aluminum sheet. The pH decreases in every case,
although the change is more significative for a neutral
pH. The supporting media seems not to have an
important effect on the dissolution results.
Figure 5 shows the aluminum dissolution rates as a
function of the pH. It can be observed that there is the
presence of a minimum at a close to neutral pH and
that the dissolution rate is several orders of magnitude
higher at alkaline pHs. During the alkaline pH experi-
ments, hydrogen bubbles evolving from the sheet sur-
face were clearly observed.
4180 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005
Figure 4. Aluminum dissolved and pH variation during batch
chemical dissolution experiments carried out under alkaline
conditions: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 12; 0 2450 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 12; 2 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 13; O 2450 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 13.
Figure 5. Aluminum dissolution rates as a function of the pH.
Supporting media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl; 0 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4.
Electrodissolution of the Aluminum Sheets. Fig-
ure 6 shows the aluminum, pH, and voltage profiles
versus time (dynamic response) generated in typical
aluminum electrodissolution experiments (current den-
sity ) 0.5 mA cm-2, temperature ) 25 °C, flow rate )
19.8 dm3 h-1, and pH ) 6.0) carried out in a continuous
flow cell.
It can be observed that the concentration of aluminum
increases with time up to a steady-state value. Likewise,
it can be observed that the bulk pH increases and the
cell voltage decreases and that both parameters also find
a steady-state value.
The steady-state value for the concentration of alu-
minum is greater than the expected value if the process
is purely electrochemical. Thus, for the conditions used
in the experiments shown in Figure 6, only 0.95 mg
dm-3 of electrodissolved aluminum was expected. The
pH increase can be justified by the hydroxyl ion genera-
tion on the cathode as a consequence of the hydrogen
evolution process. The cell voltage decrease can be
justified by the increase in the ionic conductivity of the
treated solution.
Figure 7 shows the variation of the steady-state
aluminum concentration electrogenerated in the elec-
trochemical processes with the passed electrical charge,
Figure 6. Concentration of aluminum, pH, and voltage profiles
with time (dynamic response) generated in typical aluminum
electrodissolution experiments: current density, 0.5 mA cm-2;
temperature, 25 °C; flowrate, 19.8 dm3 h-1; pH, 6. Supporting
media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl; 0 3000 mg dm-3 Na2SO4.
Figure 7. Variation of the steady-state aluminum concentration
electrogenerated in the electrochemical processes with the electri-
cal charge passed: T, 25 °C; pH, 6.0; flowrate, 19.8 dm3 h-1.
Supporting media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, 0 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4. s Values predicted using Faraday’s Law.
compared with the expected values if the process were
purely electrochemical.
As can be seen, the electrodissolved aluminum in-
creases linearly with the electrical charge and the
experimental values are greater than the values calcu-
lated if the process is purely electrochemical. In this
figure, it can also be observed that the supporting media
does not seem to play an important role in the dissolu-
tion process.
Figure 8 shows the influence of pH in the steady-state
concentration of aluminum. This figure also shows the
theoretical value of the aluminum concentration if the
process was uniquely electrochemical. It can be seen
that the experimental values are greater than the
theoretical ones and that the differences increase in
highly alkaline media. The discontinuous line corre-
sponds to the amount of aluminum chemically dissolved
at the pH of the bulk solution in the cell. It can be
observed that, only at pH 12, this line fits with the
experimental points.
Figure 9 shows the influence of the salinity and that
of the current density for the same passed electrical
charge. It can be observed that, inside the conductivity
range used, the electrodissolved aluminum concentra-

Figure 8. Influence of pH on the steady-state concentration of
aluminum generated in the electrochemical processes: s Fara-
day’s Law; - - - aluminum chemically dissolved at the pH of the
bulk solution in the cell. T, 25 °C; j, 0.5 mA cm-2; flowrate,
19.8 dm3 h-1. Supporting media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl;
0 3000 mg dm-3 Na2SO4.
Figure 9. (a) Influence of the salinity on the amount of aluminum
electrodissolved: T, 25 °C; pH, 6.0; flowrate, 19.8 dm3 h-1; j,
0.5 mA cm-2. Supporting media: [ NaCl, 0 Na2SO4. (b) Influence
of the current density on the amount of aluminum electrodissolved
for the same passed electrical charge: T, 25 °C; pH, 6; passed
electrical charge, 0.0028 A h dm-3. Supporting media: [ 2450 mg
dm-3 NaCl; 0 3000 mg dm-3 Na2SO4.
tion is maintained almost constant. On the other hand,
high current densities lead to less efficient processes.
This fact can be explained in terms of the competition
between aluminum dissolution and oxygen evolution.
At low values of current density, only the aluminum
dissolution exists, while at high values, both processes
compete and, as a consequence, the aluminum genera-
tion efficiency decreases.
The differences observed between the experimental
results and those expected if the process was purely
electrochemical can be explained in terms of the chemi-
cal dissolution of the electrode surfaces. In the first
section of this discussion, it has been proven that
chemical dissolution of aluminum can be obtained under
acidic or alkaline media, although the rate increases
strongly in the later conditions. The electrochemical
oxidation and reduction of water can importantly modify
the pH on the anode and on the cathode surfaces with
respect to the bulk pH. This is specially important on
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005 4181
Figure 10. Main stages involved in the electrochemically assisted
coagulation process according to the results obtained in this work.
the cathode, where the pH can become strongly alkaline.
This can justify the important contribution of the
chemical dissolution to the total dissolution rate (Figure
10). To confirm this role of the chemical dissolution, a
model which considers both chemical and electrochemi-
cal processes is proposed in the next section and applied
successfully to the description of the process.
Model of the Electrodissolution Process. From
the experimental results described in the former sec-
tions, it can be concluded that, to model the electro-
dissolution process, both chemical and electrochemical
processes have to be considered.
According to the literature,17 the chemical dissolution
process corresponds to the oxidation of the aluminum
sheets with the simultaneous reduction of water to form
hydrogen, according to eq 1.
2Al + 6H2O f 2Al3+ + 3H2 + 6OH- (1)
On the other hand, the electrochemical processes that
occur on the anode and on the cathode surfaces are
represented by eqs 2-4. On the anode, aluminum
dissolution and oxygen evolution can compete. On the
cathode, hydrogen evolution is the main expected reac-
tion. As can be observed, in both the chemical and the
Al f Al3+ + 3e- (2)
2H2O f O2 + 4H+ + 4e- (3)
H2O + e- f 1/2H2 + OH- (4)
electrochemical processes, hydrogen is generated.
Once the aluminum is dissolved (chemically or elec-
trochemically), some species can be formed, depending
on the pH of the solution. The reactions involved are
shown below19,20 (eqs 5-9). In this set of equations, the
following have also been taken into account: the
carbonate/bicarbonate equilibria (eqs 10 and 11) and the
ionization of water, because of its high influence on the
calculation of the pH value.
Al(OH)4- + H+ a Al(OH)3 (5)
Al(OH)3 + H+ a Al(OH)2+ (6)
4182 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005
Al(OH)2+ + H+ a Al(OH)+2 (7)
Al(OH)+2 + H+ a Al3+ (8)
Al(OH)3(s) a Al3+ + 3OH- (9)
CO2 + H2O a H+ + HCO3- (10)
HCO3- a CO32- + H+ (11)
H2O a OH- + H+ (12)
The other important point in the model is the fluid
dynamic approach. As has been shown previously, the
pH has a strong influence in the chemical dissolution
process, and the value of this parameter can increase
by several order of magnitude at an alkaline pH. In each
electrochemical cell, there is a pH profile between anode
and cathode. In the anode, the water oxidation process
(oxygen evolution) generates a high concentration of
protons and, thus, a lower pH must be obtained. In the
cathode, the water reduction process results in the
formation of hydroxyl ions and a higher pH must appear
in this zone. Thus, a marked pH profile is expected, and
the bulk pH is not a good value to determine the rate
of chemical dissolution, because it must differ consider-
ably from the actual values on the electrodes surfaces.
To take this into account, the fluid dynamic model
must consider this profile of pH. An exhaustive descrip-
tion of the electrochemical dissolution of aluminum
electrodes (in which the concentration profile of every
compound in the electrochemical cell is calculated) is
extremely difficult, because it would lead to a math-
ematical system involving several partial differential
equations. This complex situation arises since the
concentration of every compound depends on time and
on the distance to the electrode surface. Such a system
would not be helpful because of its high degree of
complexity, and therefore, in an attempt to achieve a
useful model, a number of assumptions must be made
in order to simplify the model. The assumptions that
are going to be taken into account have been previously
proposed in the literature in other works of our group,21,22
and they have helped to successfully represent waste-
water electrochemical oxidation processes.23
The first assumption is related to the description level
of the process. The position-dependence of the model can
be simplified by dividing the electrochemical reactor into
three zones: two zones (electrochemical zones) close to
the electrodes (anode and cathode) and a third zone
corresponding to the bulk solution (chemical zone). In
these three zones, the concentration of every compound
is considered to be constant with position and only time-
dependent. This assumption is valid if the residence
time in the electrochemical cell is small, since, in this
case, the profiles of concentration in the flow direction
can be assumed to be negligible. The concentration of
each compound in the chemical zone is taken as the
value measured experimentally. The concentration in
the electrochemical zone is supposed to have a value
between the concentration at the electrode surface and
the concentration in the chemical zone.
Hence, the electrochemical reactor is modeled as the
combination of three interconnected stirred-tank reac-
tors, as shown schematically in Figure 11. This highly
Figure 11. Scheme of the electrochemical reactor considered in
the model as the combination of three interconnected stirred-tank
reactors.
segregated flow approach has been successfully dem-
onstrated in the literature using marker-pulse tech-
niques for channel flow cells24.
The volume of each zone can be easily calculated25,26
if it is assumed that the thickness of the electrochemical
zone is equivalent to the Nernst diffusion layer (δ). This
assumption is acceptable because direct oxidation and
most of the mediated oxidation processes (those with
high reaction rates) occur in this zone. The thickness
of this zone can be evaluated as a function of the mass-
transfer coefficient (k) and the diffusivity (D) using eq
13.
D
δ) (13)
k
The electrode surface area is known, and so the volume
of each electrochemical zone (Va and Vc) can be easily
calculated by multiplying it by the thickness (δ). The
remaining volume of the system corresponds to the
volume of the chemical zone (Vb).
Mass transport processes between electrochemical
and chemical zones are quantified by assuming that the
local exchange rate is proportional to the concentration
difference between the two zones. The mass-transfer
rate can be calculated from eq 14, where [Si]* and [Si]
are the concentrations (mol m-3) of component i in the
electrochemical and the chemical zones, respectively, k
(m s-1) is the mass-transfer coefficient, and A (m2) is
the specific interfacial area between the electrochemical
and chemical zones. The mass-transfer coefficient (k)
can be assumed to depend only on the flow rate
conditions, because the concentrations of the compounds
are low.
ri ) kA([Si]* - [Si]) (14)
The assumption of dividing the electrochemical cell
into several zones allows the simplification of the
mathematical complexity of the model. Thus, the com-
plex system of partial differential equations (obtained
from the mass balance in a nonsimplified system) is
reduced to an easier-to-solve system of ordinary dif-
ferential equations.

d[Si]a
Va ) kA([Si]b - [Si]a) + relectrochemi,a + rchemi,aVa
dt
(15)
d[Si]c
Vc ) kA([Si]b - [Si]c) + relectrochemi,c + rchemi,cVc
dt
(16)
d[Si]b
Vb ) q([Si]0 - [Si]b) + kA([Si]a - [Si]b) +
dt
kA([Si]c - [Si]b) + rchemi,bVb (17)
The kinetic rate of the electrochemical processes, limited
by the applied current density (I), is given in eq 18,
where F is the Faraday constant.
I ) 10-10.25
r) (18)
F
On the cathode, only hydrogen evolution is supposed
to develop. Thus, eq 18 can be used to represent this
process. On the anode, both aluminum electrodissolution
and oxygen evolution compete. To model this, the
fraction of current employed to oxidize each of these
compounds can be assumed to be directly related to the
overpotential of the two compounds (ηAl and ηO2). This
approach has been used successfully as reported in the
literature in previous works of our group.21-23
I ηi
relectrochemi ) (19)
∑j ηj
F
To obtain the chemical dissolution rate that appears on
both equations, the data of Figure 5 have been fitted to
an empirical equation.
The Euler method was used to solve the system of
differential equations. The aluminum dissolved from the
electrodes can be present as different species depending
on the pH of the media. The concentration of any of
these species depends on the total concentration of
dissolved aluminum and on the pH, and this makes the
system complex from the mathematical point of view
and, consequently, difficult to solve. To simplify the
calculations, eqs 15-17 were applied only to a unique
aluminum species (the total dissolved aluminum, TDA)
and to the hydroxyl and protons. For each time step (of
the Euler differential-equations-solving method), the
different aluminum species and the resulting proton and
hydroxyl concentration in each zone were recalculated
using a pseudoequilibrium approach. To do this, the
equilibrium equations (eqs 20-27), the charge (eq 28),
and the aluminum (eq 29) and inorganic carbon (IC)
balances (eq 30) were considered in each zone (anodic,
cathodic, and chemical), and a nonlinear iterative
procedure (based on an optimization method) was
applied to satisfy simultaneously all the equilibrium
constants. In these equations (eqs 20-30), subindex z
stands for the three zones in which the electrochemical
reactor is divided (anodic, cathodic, and chemical).
[Al(OH)4-]z[H+]z
) 10-8.0 (20)
[Al(OH)3]z
[Al3+]z[OH-]z3 ) 10-32.9 (24)
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005 4183
[Al(OH)3]z[H+]z
) 10-5.7 (21)
[Al(OH)2+]z
[Al(OH)2+]z[H+]z
) 10-4.3 (22)
[Al(OH)2+]z
[Al(OH)2+]z[H+]z
) 10-5.0 (23)
3+
[Al ]z
[HCO3-]z[H+]z
) 10-6.37 (25)
[H2CO3]z
[CO32-]z[H+]z
(26)
[HCO3 ]z-
[H+]z[OH-]z ) 10-14.0 (27)
∑
anionic species
n[An-]z - ∑
cationic species
m[Bm+]z ) 0 (28)
[TDA]z ) [Al3+]z + [AlOH2+]z + [Al(OH)2+]z +
[Al(OH)3]z + [Al(OH)3]sol,z + [Al(OH)4-]z (29)
[IC]z ) [H2CO3]z + [HCO3-]z + [CO32-]z (30)
Figure 12 shows the time variation of pH and alumi-
num concentration calculated from the model compared
to those obtained experimentally for three different
experimental assays. It can be observed that the model
fits well the experimental data, with average errors
<5% for the reproducibility of pH and <10% for the
reproducibility of the aluminum concentration.
Figures 13 and 14 show the experimental steady-state
values of aluminum and bulk pH as a function of both
the initial solution pH and the specific passed electric
charge (for a constant flowrate) compared to the values
obtained from the model. It can be observed that there
is great reproducibility of the experimental results in
both the pH and the aluminum concentration, with
average regression coefficients (r2) of 0.920 and 0.958
for aluminum and pH, respectively. This validates the
assumptions on which the model is based.
Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn from the work
described here:
1. The aluminum dissolved in an electrochemical cell
comes from both chemical and electrochemical pro-
cesses. The chemical process contribution is often more
important than that of the electrochemical process
2. The chemical dissolution of aluminum is strongly
influenced by the pH. Alkaline pHs increase the dis-
solution rate by orders of magnitude. Within the ex-
perimental conditions used, the supporting media does
not seem to greatly influence the chemical dissolution
process.
3. The electrochemical dissolution process depends
mainly on the specific passed electrical charge. The
salinity and the nature of the ions do not seem to
significantly affect the electrodissolution rate.
4184 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 12, 2005
Figure 12. Experimental and modeled variation of aluminum
concentration and bulk pH with time for three experimental assays
at different initial pH (T, 25 °C; j, 0.5 mA cm-2; flowrate,
19.8 dm3 h-1): [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 11; 0 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 11; 2 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 4; O 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH4; s 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, pH 1; × 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4, pH 1. The continuous line indicates results obtained from
the model.
Figure 13. Influence of the solution pH. Experimental and
modeled steady-state values of aluminum concentration and bulk
pH (T, 25 °C; j, 0.5 mA cm-2; flowrate, 19.8 dm3 h-1). Supporting
media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, 0 3000 mg dm-3 Na2SO4. The
continuous line indicates results obtained from the model.
4. To model the process, it must be considered that
the pH on the electrode surfaces differs significantly
from that of the bulk solution, in order to adequately
justify the chemical dissolution process.
5. Good reproducibility in both the dynamic and
steady-state responses can be obtained by modeling the
system with a simple model based on two assumptions:
a highly segregated flow pattern for the fluid dynamic
description of the cell and the calculation of aluminum
species and pH from a pseudoequilibrium approach.
Figure 14. Influence of the specific passed current charge.
Experimental and modeled steady-state values of aluminum
concentration and bulk pH (T, 25 °C; pH, 6.0; flowrate, 19.8 dm3
h-1). Supporting media: [ 2450 mg dm-3 NaCl, 0 3000 mg dm-3
Na2SO4. The continuous line indicates results obtained from the
model.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the MCT (Ministerio de
Ciencia y Tecnologı́a, Spain) and by the EU (European
Union) through project CTM2004-03817/TECNO. The
contribution of Junta de Comunidades de Castilla La
Mancha is also acknowledged for the grant of F.M.
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Received for review November 26, 2004
Revised manuscript received March 15, 2005
Accepted April 16, 2005
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