Design and Optimization of Parameters Effective in Electrocoagulation Process for Removing Cadmium from Leachate and Simulated Wastewater: Using Solar Cells as Power Supply

Most industrial wastewaters are polluted with heavy metal species. Due to their toxicity, if these species are released into the environment, they can have a severe impact as a result of bioaccumulation and even a slight amount of them can be extremely toxic. Electrocoagulation (EC) is an electrochemical technique for removal of different contaminants particularly metal cations from wastewater or groundwater. Recently, much attention has been paid to EC, as a versatile and environmentally-compatible technique, in treating industrial effluent treatment. In this work, EC performance is investigated in cadmium (II) removal from leachate and synthetic wastewater using stainless steel and aluminum electrodes. The main objective of this study was to find the best approaches for reducing the cadmium content existing in raw leachate and synthetic wastewater. Influence of key parameters is evaluated. The surfaces of the electrodes were investigated by SEM before and after using for removal processing. The optimum operating conditions include applied current 6 A/m2, operating time 40 min, support electrolyte 2000 mg NaCl, the distance between the electrodes 0.5 cm and initial pH= 8.5. The results revealed that 99% of Cd was removed from the leachate in all experiments, while Cd (II) was removed totally from the simulated wastewater. Using solar cells as the power supply is an advantage compared to other counterparts.