A Review On Electrocoagulation Process For The Rem

Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:15252–15281
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-18348-8
REVIEW ARTICLE
A review on electrocoagulation process for the removal of emerging

contaminants: theory, fundamentals, and applications
Mukul Bajpai1 · Surjit Singh Katoch1 · Abudukeremu Kadier2 · Adarsh Singh3
Received: 1 September 2021 / Accepted: 22 December 2021 / Published online: 3 January 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022
Abstract
Electrocoagulation (EC) is an excellent and promising technology in wastewater treatment, as it combines the benefits of
coagulation, flotation, and electrochemistry. During the last decade, extensive researches have focused on removal of emerg-
ing contaminants by using electrocoagualtion, due to its several advantages like compactness, cost-effectiveness, efficiency,
low sludge production, and eco-friendness. Emerging contaminants (ECs) are micropollutants found in trace amounts that
discharging into conventional wastewater treatment (WWT) plants entering surface waters and imposing a high threat to
human and aquatic life. Various studies reveal that about 90% of emerging contaminants are disposed unscientifically into
water bodies, creating problems to public health and environment. The studies on removal of emerging contaminants from
wastewater are by global researchers are critically reviewed. The core findings proved that still more research required into
optimization of parameters, system design, and economic feasibility to explore the potential of EC combined systems. This
review has introduced an innovative collection of current knowledge on electro-coagulation for the removal of emerging
contaminants.
Keywords Coagulation · Electric current · Electric double layer · Hybrid-electrocoagulation · Micropollutants ·

Pharmaceutical · Zeta potential
Introduction
Highlights • EC process is one of the most novel and promising
technique for removal of emerging contaminants. In recent times, the existence of emerging contaminants
• The influence of key parameters on the efficiency of EC was (ECs) like personal care products (PCPs), surfactants, illicit
discussed comprehensively. drugs, pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), gaso-
• EC technology is effective to treat a wide range of organic
line additives, endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDCs), and
and inorganic pollutants.
• Potential of novel developed hybrid methods with EC artificial sweeteners (ASs) has now gained attention, as
techniques. their presence even in trace amounts may adversely affect
the environment (Khan et al. 2020c). ECs containing waste-
Responsible Editor: Weiming Zhang
waters are discharged from various sources such as hospitals
* Mukul Bajpai (Ahmadzadeh et al. 2017; Khan et al. 2020b, c), industries
[email protected] (Aoudj et al. 2010; Kamaraj et al. 2013; Mansoorian et al.
2014), municipal WWT plants (Ensano et al. 2019a), over-
1
Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Civil Engineering flow or leakage of sewage from sewers (Launay et al. 2016),
Department, National Institute of Technology Hamirpur,
Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 177005, India landfill leachates (Yi et al. 2017), and drainage of wastewater
2 containing manure from agricultural activities (Sidhu et al.
Laboratory of Environmental Science and Technology,
The Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, 2013). Natural attenuation and conventional treatment pro-
Key Laboratory of Functional Materials and Devices cesses are incapable of eliminating these micropollutants
for Special Environments, Chinese Academy of Sciences, from wastewater, surface water, and drinking water, and
Urumqi 830011, China they have been observed to bioaccumulate in macro-inver-
3
Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute tebrates, other species in the aquatic food web, and humans
of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, (Rodriguez-Narvaez et al. 2017; Husain Khan et al. 2020).
India
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:15252–15281 15253
Also, releasing such toxic pollutants into the environment This study also provides comprehensive information on
has led to the spread and growth of antibiotic-resistant bac- the feasibility of hybrid–electrocoagulation technologies
teria (ARB) or antibiotic-resistant genes (ARG) that severely for eliminating ECs and micropollutants from wastewa-
impact human and ecological health (Yi et al. 2017). ARG ters. Finally, we outline some recommendations or future
or ARB with resistance to ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, research directions for enhancing the efficiency of electro-
trimethoprim, quinolone, vancomycin, or tetracycline has coagulation technology.
been detected in the environment (Sharma et al. 2016).
Presently, various chemical groups are available that fall
under ECs, and still, the new chemicals are being discovered
Concept of coagulation
and identified to be part of this classification. Some of the
emerging chmicals that are included in the biannual review
Coagulation occurs when suspended particles collide with
of ECs in water are sucralose, artificial sweeteners, nanoma-
the counter particles and agglomerate to create an insolu-
terials, perfluorinated compounds, UV filters, flame retard-
ble complex in water (Syam Babu et al. 2020). Colloids are
ants, benzotriazoles, siloxanes, naphthenic acids, musks,
microscopic particles whose size ranges between 1 nm and
algal toxins, and prions (Richardson and Ternes 2014). The
2 μm, scattered in a solution that is difficult to separate from
release of these micro-pollutants is expected to grow in the
water because they do not settle under gravity and are so
environment with the advancement of the chemical industry
tiny that they move through the pores of filtration media
that can adversely affect the flora, fauna, and human health
(Tahreen et al. 2020). The two surface forces that enable col-
in the long term (Rodriguez-Narvaez et al. 2017; Khan et al.
loidal particle stability in water are the repulsive electrostatic
2020a).
force and the weak Van der Waal force of attraction. Vander
In this regard, various technologies are available for
Waals forces of attraction are generated by permanent or
removing ECs from wastewater such as sequencing batch
induced dipoles and are required at short distances. On the
reactor (Liu et al. 2017), advanced oxidation process (Sarkar
other hand, repulsive forces are caused by the overlapping
et al. 2017), anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactor (Chen
of the electric double layer (EDL), stern, and diffused layers
et al. 2019), nano-catalytic ozonation process (Malik et al.
(Moussa et al. 2017; Naje et al. 2017).
2019), electrochemical treatment (Ahmadzadeh and Dola-
tabadi 2018), membrane technology (Liu et al. 2019a), mov-
ing bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) (Husain Khan et al. 2020), Electric double layer
combined photo-Fenton and biological treatment (Changotra
et al. 2019), and photocatalytic degradation using Ag3PO4/ If we place a charged particle in an ion suspension, the
BiOBr under visible light (Xiao et al. 2017). Among the primary charge will attract oppositely charged ions elec-
treatment method as mentioned above, electrochemical tech- trostatically. However, this charge cannot draw an equiva-
nology seems to be a promising alternative WWT technique lent amount of counter charge due to forming a gradient of
due to its certain specific characteristics, such as its less counter-ions, driving counter ions away from the surface
operating expenses, simple design, rapid sedimentation due (Herrada et al. 2014). The EDL (Figure 1) is created by the
to floc formation, very little or no chemical addition, and primary surface charge attracting oppositely charged ions
less sludge generation (Moussa et al. 2017; Naje et al. 2017; and then diffusing the counter-ions away from the surface.
Tahreen et al. 2020; Al-Qodah et al. 2020; Syam Babu et al. The counter-ions shift, but the direct charge remains intact
2020; Adeogun et al. 2021). Nowadays, the major priority (Naje et al. 2017; Zaied et al. 2020).
of environmental engineers is to develop a WWT facility When exposed to an electrical field, the colloids tend to
that can facilitate decentralized wastewater treatment. In this gravitate towards the positive electrode. This transfer occurs
aspect, electrocoagulation proves to be an effective decen- as the colloidal particle’s internal portion has a higher charge
tralized WWT technology (Bajpai et al. 2019; Galvão et al. density than the rest, reacting to the field and leaving the dif-
2020). Previous literature have focused on pollutant centric fuse external layer behind (Singh and Quraishi 2010). The
studies; no studies have yet reported in open literature on EDL shears at a plane, and the potential (voltage) of the
removal of emerging contaminants by electrocoagulation EDL at this plane, is known as the zeta potential (ζ). The
process. zeta potential represents the net charge between the primary
This review mainly focuses on analyzing recent develop- and the counter-charges in the EDL centered between the
ment in electrocoagulation to remove emerging contami- surface and the shear plane. The colloid interacts with other
nants (ECs) from different types of wastewaters. Also, the colloids because of its charge (Ren et al. 2011). The colloi-
concept of coagulation theory, electrocoagulation process dal particles present in suspension possessing zeta potentials
fundamentals, and the effect of its operating variables on greater than +30 mV or −30 mV are usually stable (Moussa
pollutant treatment efficiency are systematically discussed. et al. 2017; Tahreen et al. 2020).

15254 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:15252–15281
Fig. 1 Diagram of electric dou-

ble layer (EDL), adapted from
(Herrada et al. 2014)
Fig. 2 Representative diagram

of the forces on two colloidal
particles; adapted from (Tah-
reen et al. 2020)
Derjaguin–Landua–Verwey–Overbeek theory DLVO theory, the net force is caused by EDL interaction
at the particle’s surface which describes the equilibrium
The DLVO theory (named after Derjaguin–Landua–Ver- of colloidal particles in suspension (Figure 2) (Tahreen
wey–Overbeek) is the traditional justification for colloidal et al. 2020).
stability in suspension (Moussa et al. 2017). According to

Fig. 3 Plot between the interac-

tion energy and particle separa-
tion curve (Moussa et al. 2017)
Fig. 4 Colloid’s coagulation

mechanism, adapted from (Her-
rada et al. 2014)

Fig. 5 Plot between pH and

concentration (M) showing
soluble monomeric hydroly-
sis products of Fe3+(eq)and
Al3+(eq) with amorphous
hydroxide at zero ionic strength
and 25°C (Naje et al. 2017)
In addition, the solution containing equal and opposite published literature (Sahu et al. 2014; Moussa et al. 2017;
ions balance the charge on the particles. The net interaction Tahreen et al. 2020; Liu et al. 2021).
energy between two particles is found by the sum of Van der
Waals attraction energy (EVW) and electrostatic repulsion Coagulants
energy (Eelec), as a function of the distance (h) between two
particles (displayed in Figure 3) (Sahu et al. 2014; Moussa To achieve the coagulation process, chemical coagulants
et al. 2017). The net interaction curve portrays three dif- such as poly-aluminum chloride (PAC) (Atari et al. 2019;
ferent features: the primary and secondary minimum and a Liang et al. 2019), poly-aluminum hydroxy-chloride
primary maximum. (Flórez 2011), aluminum chloride (Lin et al. 2017), alu-
In a typical wastewater treatment coagulation procedure, minum chloro-hydrate (Umar et al. 2016), aluminum sul-
there are many mixing phases. A quick agitation is needed fate (Chawaloesphonsiya et al. 2018; Dotto et al. 2019),
for proper chemical dispersion in the wastewater stream and ferric chloride (Mahdavi et al. 2017), and ferrous sulfate
collisions at the coagulation level. Consequently, the size monohydrate (Syam Babu et al. 2020) are used. Coagu-
of the particle grows during flocculation due to a gradual lants such as Al(III) and Fe(III) salts are widely used in
mixing phenomenon caused by an induced velocity gradi- water and WWT. Both metals can produce multivalent
ent (Sahu et al. 2014; Moussa et al. 2017). Figure 4 shows ions as well as a variety of hydrolysis products.
the mechanism or process for the coagulation of colloidal Fe(II) is an inefficient coagulant since it oxidizes to
particles. form Fe(III) during the coagulation phase. Simple Al and
A detailed description of various steps of coagulation Fe sulfates and chlorides are the globally used salts. Metal
such as compression of the EDL, adsorption/charge neu- cations in coagulants undergo a sequence of hydrolytic
tralization, adsorption/inter-particle bridging, and precipi-
tation of colloidal particles can be found in the previously

reactions in which mononuclear and polynuclear hydrox- Katoch 2020), landfill leachate (Galvão et al. 2020), dairy
ides are formed depending on the pH of the solution (Ghahremani et al. 2012), real textile wastewater (Bener
(displayed in Figure 5 and Eq. 1). Moreover, they tend to et al. 2019), dyes from textile industry (Khandegar and
adsorb very firmly onto the surface of most negative col- Saroha 2013a), poultry slaughterhouse (Eryuruk et al. 2018),
loids; these compounds are very effective as coagulants licorice processing wastewater (Abbasi et al. 2020), Kraft
(Sahu et al. 2014; Zaied et al. 2020). paper mill wastewater (Wagle et al. 2020; Bhagawati and
Shivayogimath 2021), and tertiary oil recovery wastewater
M3+ (aq.) + nH2 O ↔ M(OH)3−n
n
+ nH+ (aq.) (1) (Liu et al. 2019b).
In addition, the EC process has also been utilized effec-
tively for the removal of phosphate (Omwene and Kobya
The major drawback of chemical coagulation is the gen-
2018; Hashim et al. 2019), color (Azadi Aghdam et al.
eration of high amount of sludge, which becomes difficult
2016), hardness (Zhao et al. 2014), fluoride (Silva et al.
to handle, manage, and dispose due to its high quantity and
2018), turbidity (Mohammadi et al. 2017), boron (Kartikan-
concentration of chemicals (Assadi et al. 2016; Eskibalci
ingsih et al. 2016), chromium (Genawi et al. 2020), hexava-
and Ozkan 2018; Tahreen et al. 2020). As a result, addi-
lent chromium (Reddithota et al. 2007), iron (Hashim et al.
tional steps of separation are needed to isolate the toxicity
2017), cobalt (Vasudevan et al. 2012b), copper (Vasudevan
from the treated effluent. As a result, the new and advanced
et al. 2012b), strontium (Kamaraj and Vasudevan 2015),
technique of electrochemical coagulation with zero chemical
cadmium (Daniel Reddythota and PRAV 2016; Xu et al.
input gains popularity.
2017), cesium (Kamaraj and Vasudevan 2015), mercury
(Vasudevan et al. 2012a), arsenic (Nidheesh and Singh 2017;
Gilhotra et al. 2018), and lead (Mansoorian et al. 2014). In
Electrocoagulation process—fundamentals
addition, various ECs and pharmaceutical pollutants were
also successfully removed by the EC process, such as oxytet-
On understanding the stability and destabilization of col-
racycline hydrochloride (Nariyan et al. 2017) and veterinary
loidal structures, the process of electrocoagulation could
antibiotics like ampicillin, doxycycline, sulfathiazole and
be understood conveniently, a cutting-edge technology that
tylosin (Baran et al. 2018), ciprofloxacin (Ahmadzadeh et al.
combines coagulation, flotation, and electrochemistry. Elec-
2017), amoxicillin (Padilla-Robles et al. 2015), acetamiprid
trocoagulation is a dissociation method of metal ions (usu-
(John et al. 2016), diclofenac, and carbamazepine (Ensano
ally Fe and Al), hydrolysis of water into H
2 gas, destabiliza-
et al. 2017). Empirical experiments on EC are typically
tion of solid particles, formation of large and heavy flocs,
conducted to determine optimal operational conditions for
and finally, removal of flocs via filtration (Bhagawati and
treating broad groups of polluted water or waste streams.
Shivayogimath 2017; Wagle et al. 2020). The electrocoagu-
Furthermore, efforts have been made to optimize the EC
lation (EC) technique was first proposed in 1889 (London),
technology to reduce power consumption while increasing
where EC was used for treating domestic wastewater via
pollutant removal efficiency.
mixing with saline water (Vik et al. 1984).
In the last few years, the EC technique has proven to be
a promising technology for the treatment of various kinds
of wastewaters such as real graywater (Bajpai et al. 2020),
distillery (Khandegar and Saroh 2014), hospital (Bajpai and

Fig. 6 Typical EC setup and

pollutant removal mechanism
during EC process
Table 1 Reactions at anode Mechanism: 1 Mechanism: 2

and cathode during the EC
process: Al and Fe as electrodes Oxidation reaction at the anode Oxidation reaction at the anode
(Kabdaşlı et al. 2012; Sahu et al. 4Fe (s) → 4Fe2+(aq) + 8e−1 Fe (s) → Fe2+(aq) + 2e−1
2014; Moussa et al. 2017; Naje Al (s) → Al3+(aq) + 3e−1
et al. 2017; Hakizimana et al.
Reduction reaction at the cathode Reduction reaction at the cathode
2017; Zaied et al. 2020; Shahedi
8H+(aq) + 8e−1 → 4H2 2H2O (l) + 2e−1 → H2(g) + 2OH−1(aq)
et al. 2020; Tahreen et al. 2020;
Syam Babu et al. 2020) Chemical reactions during EC process Chemical reactions during EC process
4Fe2+(aq) + 10H2O (l) + O2(aq) → 4Fe(OH)3(s) + 8H+(aq) Fe2+(aq) + 2OH−(aq) → Fe(OH)2(s)
Al3+(aq) + 3H2O → Al(OH)3 + 3H+(aq) Al3+(aq) + 3OH− → Al(OH)3
Overall reactions
Fe(s) + 2H2O (l) → Fe(OH)2(s) + H2
Al3+ + 3H2O → Al(OH)3 + 3H+

Fig. 7 Main mechanism of solu-

ble pollution abatement using
EC (Ghernaout 2019)
Table 2 Pros and cons of the electrocoagulation process

Pros Cons
• Simple in design, ease of operation, short startup period, and less • Regular maintenance and replacement of electrodes are needed
maintenance required (Moussa et al. 2017; Tahreen et al. 2020; Al- (Shahedi et al. 2020; Al-Qodah et al. 2020; Sivaranjani et al. 2021).
Qodah et al. 2020; Sivaranjani et al. 2021). • Passivation of electrode occurs because of the formation of oxide lay-
• Secondary pollution is negligible as no additional chemicals are ers on the surface of the electrode, due to which efficiency of the EC
required (Naje et al. 2017; Shahedi et al. 2020; Sivaranjani et al. process decreases (Moussa et al. 2017; Shahedi et al. 2020; Al-Qodah
2021). et al. 2020).
• EC is successful in treating wastewater containing color, odor, • The conductivity of wastewater or samples also impacts the perfor-
organic compounds, pharmaceutical compounds, heavy metals, mance of electrocoagulation (Hakizimana et al. 2017; Syam Babu
emerging contaminants, etc. (Tahreen et al. 2020; Syam Babu et al. et al. 2020).
2020; Sivaranjani et al. 2021). • Sometimes gelatinous substances may be dissolved into the solution if
• The applied potential makes collision faster and enhances coagula- kept without separation for a longer duration (Syam Babu et al. 2020;
tion, due to which the smallest colloidal particles present in the Sivaranjani et al. 2021).
solution are also easily removed (Al-Qodah et al. 2020; Syam Babu • Regions having scarcity of electricity, the operational cost of the EC
et al. 2020). process can be expensive (Moussa et al. 2017).
• The formation of sludge is less and stable as compared with other
separation techniques, and there is rapid sludge settlement (Al-
Qodah et al. 2020; Syam Babu et al. 2020; Sivaranjani et al. 2021).
• The gas bubbles formed in the EC process carry the pollutant to the
solution’s surface, from where it can be easily removed (Moussa
et al. 2017; Naje et al. 2017).
• The effluent obtained from EC is clear, odorless, and colorless in
nature (Naje et al. 2017; Syam Babu et al. 2020).
• Solar power can be used as a source of power in the EC process
(Hakizimana et al. 2017).
Principle oxidized at the electrodes (Hakizimana et al. 2017; Shahedi

et al. 2020).
The fundamental theory of electrocoagulation is derived
from the term “electrolysis.” The word “electrolysis” simply Mechanism and reactions
means “the use of electricity to split apart substances.” In
1820, Michael Faraday proposed the electrolysis theory for Electrocoagulation is a separation method that employs both
the first time (Sahu et al. 2014). The entire mechanism takes physical and chemical mechanisms for pollutant elimina-
place in an electrolytic solution, allowing ions to be trans- tion (Nidheesh and Singh 2017). As shown in Figure 6, the
ferred between the electrodes. When the current is applied, basic EC unit comprises an electrolytic cell with an anode
the positive ions flow to the cathode, and negative ions and cathode as electrodes attached externally to a DC power
flow. As a result, the cations are reduced, and the anions are source and submerged in the raw solution to be treated. Iron

Fig. 8 Major factors influencing EC performance with their dependent vectors (Hakizimana et al. 2017)
(Fe) and aluminum (Al) electrodes are the most commonly for soluble pollutants is summarized in Fig. 7. In practice,
used metals for EC cells as they are non-toxic, have high there is usually a dominant mechanism for each pollutant
durability, and are readily available (Moussa et al. 2017; which is a function of the nature of this pollutant (Haki-
Zaied et al. 2020). Different combinations of electrodes have zimana et al. 2017).
been investigated to treat wastewater (Khandegar and Saroha
2012; Hakizimana et al. 2017). Benefits and limitations of EC process
The mechanism involved in the EC process generally con-
sists of various stages (Naje et al. 2017; Hakizimana et al. The treatment efficacy obtained in the EC process is 10
2017; Shahedi et al. 2020; Syam Babu et al. 2020) mainly to 15% which is more than that of conventional coagula-
listed as below: tion (Shahedi et al. 2020), and the sludge produced by the
EC process is less than that of chemical-aided coagulation
(i) Anode material is subjected to electricity and then (Zaleschi et al. 2012). Additional pros and cons of the EC
dissolves, resulting in the formation of metal cations. process are given in Table 2.
(ii) Hydroxyl ion generation at the cathode during
hydrolysis.
(iii) Formation of metal hydroxides that have a high Major operating factors influencing EC
adsorption ability and can bind contaminants. process
(iv) Oxidation of contaminants to common toxic species.
(v) The reaction of metal oxides with pollutants to form Various parameters affect the efficacy of electrocoagulation
neutralized substance. in WWT. They are categorized in three categories: Firstly,
(vi) The neutralized substance aggregates and adsorbs the working conditions such as current or current density or
on metal hydroxides, which is then accompanied by voltage, type of power supply, agitation speed, and electroly-
sweep coagulation. sis time or residence period; secondly, physical and chemical
(vii) Some of the neutralized matter interacts with the gas characteristics of water/wastewater such as pH of the solu-
generated in the system, resulting in gas entrapment tion, electrical conductivity, initial concentration of the pol-
in the flocculated structures. lutant, and effect of temperature; lastly, the configuration or
geometry of EC setup and electrode arrangement. Figure 8
The oxidation and reduction reactions in the EC process summarizes the significant factors that affect the EC process;
at both electrodes are shown in Table 1. their interactions underline the vectors through which EC
The metal cations released in bulk undergo various equi- performances could be affected.
librium reactions corresponding to acid/base, complexation,
precipitation, and redox reactions in water. The mechanism

Effect of current density or electric current The EC unit installed with AC power supply was successful
in treating various types of pollutants such as color and COD
Current density, known as applied current per effective from distillery industrial effluent with a removal efficiency
cross-sectional area of electrodes, is the only parameter in an of 90.57% and 86.54%, respectively (Asaithambi et al.
EC cell that can be directly regulated (Moussa et al. 2017). 2021); lead and zinc from battery building industry with a
It is crucial to determine the rate of coagulant dosage and removal efficiency of 96.7% and 95.2% respectively (Man-
bubble formation, floc size, and metal ion dissociation from soorian et al. 2014); arsenate from synthetic prepared water
the electrodes (Dermouchi et al. 2016; Naje et al. 2017; Liu with a removal efficiency of 98.3% (Vasudevan et al. 2012c);
et al. 2021). As electricity is transmitted into an EC cell, the copper from synthetic prepared water with a removal effi-
anode acts as a coagulant, dissociating to give metal cations. ciency of 97.8% (Kamaraj et al. 2013); cadmium from tap
The dissociation of anode follows Faraday’s law, as shown water with a removal efficiency of 97.5% (Vasudevan et al.
in Equation 2 (Zaied et al. 2020; Syam Babu et al. 2020): 2011) and nickel(II) and cobalt(II) mixtures from synthetic
influent with a removal efficiency of 99.2% respectively
ItM
Z= (2) (Mansour and Hasieb 2012). This research also concluded
eF that the overall operating cost in using an AC power supply
where I = current (A), t = electrolysis time (s), M = is much less than using a DC power supply, making AC a
molecular weight of material used (g/mol), F = Faraday’s more economical alternative.
constant (96,485 C/mol), e = number of electrons involved
in oxidation and reduction reactions of the EC process (for
Al3+= 3, F e2+= 2, and Fe3+= 3), and Z = total mass of anode Agitation/stirring speed
dissolved (gm). Equation (2) depicts that the metal ion disso-
ciation (e) is directly proportional to the current applied (I). Agitation imparts uniformity in the solution leading to the
Current densities in the range of 1–100 mA/cm2 have been interaction among generated ions with the addition of veloc-
successfully applied during the EC processes (Kabdaşlı et al. ity. This interaction results in the formation of flocs required
2012). However, when a too-large current is applied, the per- to agglomerate the pollutant (Naje et al. 2017). An agitation
formance of the EC unit gets affected, the treatment efficacy speed of 80–300 rpm is typically considered for WWT using
of the pollutant decreases, and the overall operational cost of the EC method; however, increasing the agitation speed
the EC unit increases (Dermouchi et al. 2016). The current above the optimum value reduces the pollutant removal
density can be decreased while retaining the same efficacy efficiency as the flocs degrade due to collision (Naje et al.
by changing the other EC core parameters. The EC operat- 2017; Tahreen et al. 2020). An experiment was conducted
ing expenses may be lowered by lowering the power input, with and without agitation speed in the EC process. It was
increasing electrolyte conductivity, and decreasing electrode found that there was almost no separation without agita-
surface area (Tahreen et al. 2020). As a result, the applied tion, but by changing it from 300 to 500 rpm, the treatment
electric current is a critical parameter optimized to perform efficacy of the pollutant increases (Khandegar and Saroha
EC for the desired water quality. Several studies show the 2014). Another EC experiment was conducted by adjusting
effects of current density, applied current, and voltage on the agitation speed from 200 to 600 rpm for COD removal
EC operation/efficiency under different operating conditions efficiency from distillery spent wash wastewater. It was dis-
(Mansoorian et al. 2014; Gatsios et al. 2015; Kobya et al. covered that treatment efficacy rises from 200 to 500 rpm
2016; Hakizimana et al. 2017; Ghernaout 2019; Bajpai and and decreases from 500 to 600 rpm (Khandegar and Saroha
Katoch 2020). 2012).
Type of power supply Electrolysis time
In general, direct current (DC) power supplies are used for The electrocoagulation time is a significant factor determin-
EC units; however, using DC causes corrosion/consump- ing the pollutant treatment efficacy from wastewater. With
tion of the anode material due to oxidation, and an oxide the addition of coagulants at a particular electric current, the
layer forms on the surface of the cathode, decreasing the contaminant treatment efficacy enhances electrolysis time.
movement of current/electron between the anode and the However, after the optimum electrolysis time, the removal
cathode and thus decreasing the pollutant removal effi- rate becomes constant and does not change with electroly-
ciency (Khandegar and Saroha 2013b, 2014; Moussa et al. sis time (Sahu et al. 2014; Naje et al. 2017; Shahedi et al.
2017). However, some researchers used AC power supply to 2020). An experiment was performed using the EC process
enhance the EC performance that showed promising results. to analyze the effect of electrolysis time on color removal
efficiency (CRE) from the effluent received from the textile

Fig. 9 Different modes of electrode arrangement in an EC reactor (Moussa et al. 2017)
industry, with electrolysis times varying from 15 to 120 min. arsenic removal performance achieves a limit of 93.7%
Color removal improved significantly (30–61%) when the at pH 5.5 and decreases to 89.4% at pH 9 (Nyangi et al.
EC time was increased from 15 to 45 min, but there was a 2020). Another researcher examined the impact of differ-
slight improvement in CRE (61–68%) when the EC time ent pH values (3, 5, 7, and 9) on amoxicillin removal effi-
was increased from 45 to 90 min. However, CRE increased ciency from synthetic wastewater. Test results showed that
significantly when the EC time was raised from 90 to 120 average amoxicillin removal enhanced from 76.2 to 98.2%
min (68–98%) (Khandegar and Saroha 2014). when the pH was increased from 3 to 7. Further increasing
the pH to 9 which resulted in reduced treatment efficiency
pH of the solution to 79.4% (Balarak et al. 2019). The pH value ranging from
5.5 to 8.5 looks appropriate from the literature. Most metal
The critical parameter that affects the conductivity of solu- ions form metal hydroxide flocs that rapidly remove pol-
tion and electrode consumption is the impact of pH on luting molecules through complexation and electrostatic
pollutant removal efficiency. A metal ion is dissolved as attraction (Kabdaşlı et al. 2012; Sahu et al. 2014).
divalent or trivalent anions and cations, and depending on
pH and electrolytic cell’s ability to form insoluble metal
compounds, they are further hydrolyzed (Safwat and Matta Electrical conductivity
2020; Liu et al. 2021). When pH is low (< 3.0), the pre-
vailing metal ion obtains solute, and the undesirable metal The conductivity of the solution is also an essential fac-
hydroxide ion forms a weak coagulant at a solid alkaline pH tor in assessing EC efficiency and overall power usage.
(> 9.0). As a result, the efficacy of the EC process decreases The conductivity facilitates the flow of an electric cur-
(Tak et al. 2015). rent through it. Electrical conductivity is proportional to
What’s more, an experiment was conducted to exam- its efficiency of pollutant removal and inversely propor-
ine the impact of pH on arsenic removal from industrial tional to its power consumption (Tahreen et al. 2020). It
effluents by EC process using different combinatiomns depends on both the type and concentration of the elec-
(Al–Fe, Al–Al, and Fe–Fe) of electrodes. It was discov- trolyte. Various electrolytes are available, like NaCl, KI,
ered that the removal efficiency of arsenic ions increased C aCl 2, KCl, N a 2SO 4, K NO 3, N H 4Cl, and B
aCl 2 (Sahu
with increases of initial pH in the range of 2–10. At an et al. 2014; Yoosefian et al. 2017; Moussa et al. 2017).
initial value of pH=8, the maximum removal efficiency Generally, NaCl is applied to improve electrolytic con-
of arsenic reached 99.9% at a current of 0.8A and 15 min ductivity. A study found that raising the concentration of
of electrolysis time (Daniel and Prabhakara Rao 2012). the electrolyte from 0.5 to 1.0 g/L marginally increased
Another experiment was conducted to study the impact color and COD removal rates while increasing the NaCl
of pH on arsenic removal from industrial effluents by EC concentration up to 2 g/L or reaching 1 g/L resulted in
process using Al–Fe electrodes. It was discovered that a slight but substantial decrease in treatment efficiencies

in terms of color and COD removals (Tak et al. 2015). Type of electrode material
It is well recognized that adding a proper electrolyte to
the EC cell improves EC performance by increasing the The type of electrode material describes which electrochem-
conductivity of the polluted water, which impacts Faradic ical reactions will take place in the EC system. Generally,
yield, cell voltage, and power consumption of the EC unit aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) electrode materials have been
(Yoosefian et al. 2017). successfully used in the EC unit (Kabdaşlı et al. 2012; Der-
mouchi et al. 2016). An experiment was conducted to wit-
ness the effect of 4 electrodes (anode-cathode) combination
The initial concentration of pollutant (Fe–Fe, Al–Al, Fe–Al, and Al–Fe) on heavy metal removal
from metal plating industrial wastewater (Figure 7). The
The effectiveness in pollutant removal reduces as the pol- maximum metal removal with Fe–Fe electrode combination
lutant concentration in influent increases with a constant was observed to be 30% and 49.4% of Ni and Zn, respec-
electric current. At higher initial contaminant concentra- tively, and with Al–Al combination of the electrode was
tions in the effluent, the number of metal hydroxide flocs observed to be 86% and 84% for Cu and Pb, respectively,
generated could be inadequate to settle a large number of after 40 min of electrolysis time (Bhagawan et al. 2014). The
pollutants molecules (Khandegar and Saroha 2013a, b). An study results showed that the metal removal rate was faster
EC experiment was conducted by Nariyan et al. (2017) for within 30 min of electrolysis and steadily decreased after 30
pharmaceutical removal from water and investigated the min, which may be due to the inefficient coagulant dosage.
influence of initial oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC) on
pollutant removal efficiency. With 100 mg/L and 200 mg/L, Electrode arrangement
the removal of OCT was 80.04% and 82.96%, respectively.
However, when the initial concentration of OCT increases, The combination and configuration of electrodes in an elec-
the elimination in the first 20 min is reduced. In particular, trocoagulation unit affect the ability to remove contami-
elimination rates were 70%, 68.02%, 60.87%, and 45.78% nants and the cost of energy consumption (Tahreen et al.
for 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/L in the first 20 min, respec- 2020). The electrodes can be arranged simply as an anode
tively. However, at an initial concentration of 200 mg/L, the and a cathode, or they can be placed more complexly in
removal efficiency improved from 45.78% after 20 min to a single EC unit with mainly three combinations of anode
73.21% after 40 min of reaction time. and cathode such as monopolar parallel (MP-P), monopo-
lar series (MP-S), and bipolar series (BP-S) as shown in
Effect of temperature Figure 9 (Sahu et al. 2014). Both the anodes and cath-
odes in an MP-P connection are wired to an external DC
The effect of temperature on EC performance has been stud- power source, allowing the current to be evenly distributed
ied in very few articles and has not been well documented. between the electrodes, resulting in a lower potential differ-
However, some researchers have put an effort to understand ence. Two outermost electrodes are coupled to an external
the effect of temperature on pollutant removal efficiency power source in the MP-S configuration. In contrast, each
(Vasudevan et al. 2011; Vepsäläinen and Sillanpää 2020). pair of the inner electrodes is wired to each other without
The temperature effect on arsenate treatment by electroco- interconnecting with the outer electrodes, which provides a
agulation has been found in the range of 20–40°C tempera- higher potential difference by adding cell voltage. The task
tures. At 30°C, the highest arsenate removal efficiency of of internal electrodes is to minimize the anode consumption
99.6% was obtained, and this efficiency becomes constant and cathode passivation. Lastly, the external electrodes are
at higher temperatures (35°C and 40°C) (Ali et al. 2012). linked to the external DC source in the BP-S arrangement,
However, another study made between 20 and 60°C, treating while the inner electrodes are not connected. As electric cur-
wastewater from the paper mill industry, reported a decrease rent flows through the main electrodes, the neighboring side
in efficiency by 10–20% (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh 2011). of the internal electrodes becomes polarized and carries a
When aluminum material is used as an electrode, it has been charge opposite the nearby electrode’s charge. The two outer
reported that when temperatures are too high, large pores of electrodes are monopolar in arrangement, while the inner
the Al(OH)3 gel shrink, forming thick flocs that are more sacrificial electrodes are bipolar (Moussa et al. 2017; Naje
likely to deposit on the electrode surface (Vepsäläinen and et al. 2017; Ghernaout 2019; Tahreen et al. 2020).
Sillanpää 2020). In this regard, the impact of electrode arrangement on
treatment efficiency of the pollutants from can industrial
wastewater by EC process using Al electrodes was studied.
It was found that among MP-P, MP-S, and BP-S configura-
tion, the electrodes in MP-P connection provides maximum

removal efficiency of the pollutants (37% for TOC, 72% U × I × tEC

for COD, 99.38% for Zr, 99.41% for Al, and 99.80% for CEnergy (kWh∕kg COD) = (5)
V × Ci × Re
phosphate) from can manufacturing wastewater (Kobya and
Demirbas 2015). Similar results regarding the MP-P connec-
I × tEC × Mw × φFe
tion were also attained by various researchers (Ince 2013; CElectrode (kg∕kg COD) = (6)
z × F × V × Ci × Re
Senturk 2013; Kobya et al. 2015).
where U is the cell potential, I is the applied current, tEC
Inter‑electrode distance is the electrolysis time, V is the volume ( m3) of wastewater,
Ci (kg/m3) is the COD concentration of wastewater in the
Since the electrostatic field is dependent on the distance input stream, Re is the COD removal efficiency, Mw is the
between the anode and the cathode, the inter-electrode dis- molecular mass of Fe (55.85 g/mol), φFe is the current effi-
tance (IED) is also a significant factor influencing EC per- ciency, z is the the number of electron moles (2 for Fe and
formance (Naje et al. 2017). The variation in a voltage drop 3 for Al), and F is the Faraday’s constant (96,485 C/mol).
(Vd) is governed by the following equation (Nandi and Patel The research has been made to find the relation between
2017): the value of operating cost on one hand and the effect of the
(
d
) geometry of electrodes and their consumption, as well as
Vd = I (3) energy consumption, on the other hand (AlJaberi 2019). The
S×k
total operating cost for the treatment of cefazolin antibiotic
where I = current (A), d = distance between the elec- from pharmaceutical wastewater by EC process was pre-
trodes (m), S = active anode surface (m2), and k = specific dicted to be 0.89 USD/kg COD removed (Bajpai et al. 2021).
conductivity (103 mS/m). The operating cost increases with an increase in operating
From Eq. 3, it is noted that the voltage drop increases time for Fe and Al electrodes, while the operating cost is
as the IED increases for a constant anodic surface area and double for Al electrodes as compared to Fe electrodes for
conductivity of the solution. When the distance and resist- the same operating time (Attour et al. 2014). The operational
ance between the two electrodes increase, the electric cur- cost in the EC process for the removal of antibiotics suh as
rent flowing through them reduces, and there is less antici- levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin from aqueous solution was
pation of contact of ions with hydroxide polymers. At the estimated as 0.613 USD/m3 (Mohammed et al. 2021).
minimum IED, the pollutant removal efficiency decreases
as the flocs formed to remove the pollutants through settling
are degraded by collision due to high electrostatic attraction
(Nandi and Patel 2017; Naje et al. 2017). Hence, an optimum Applications of EC
IED is required for the effective removal of contaminants
from wastewater. The optimum IED of 1–3 cm is suggested This work investigates the efficiency of the EC method to
by various researchers (Huda et al. 2017; Nandi and Patel treat emerging contaminants such as PhACs, PCPs, EDCs,
2017; Verma 2017; Bajpai and Katoch 2020). and other pollutants from various industries. In this respect,
EC platform technology applications are categorized and
tabulated as follows:
Economic analysis of EC
• Elimination/reduction of contaminants from different
Cost analysis plays an important role in wastewater treat- types of wastewaters used in the current study is sum-
ment techniques. The overall cost of EC operation is signifi- marized in Table 3.
cantly based on the consumption of electrode material and • Removal of emerging contaminants/PhACs/PCPs/EDCs,
electrical energy required for the treatment process that is which are shown in Table 4.
calculated using Eq. (4) (Khadir et al. 2020; Özyonar et al. • Removal of emerging contaminants by combining EC
2020): with another technology/hybrid EC, displayed in Table 5.
Operational cost = α.CEnergy + β.CElectrode (4)
where coefficient “α” signifies energy charge ($/kWh) Table 3 depicts the application of the electrocoagu-
(for above 100kVA), and “β” signifies price for electrode lation process on various types of wastewaters contain-
material/kg taken from the local market ($/kg). CEnergy and ing organic compounds, heavy metals, dyes, and so on.
CElectrode were estimated from Eqs. (5) and (6) (Ozyonar The EC method was effective in treating various types
2016; Bajpai and Katoch 2021; Faheem et al. 2021): of wastewater produced by landfill leachate (Galvão et al.

Table 3 Application of EC process on various types of wastewaters
Country Wastewater type/effluent Electrode material and Optimum operating condi- Pollutant removal efficiency Energy consumption (ENC) References
configuration tions (%) and operating cost (OC)
Algeria Synthetic Al–Al CD: 1.875 mA/cm2; pH: 6, Azo textile dye (direct red – (Aoudj et al. 2010)
IED: 1.5 cm, SE (NaCl): 2 81) dye: 98%
g/L; tEC: 10 to 60 min
Brazil Municipal sanitary landfill Eight Al electrodes and CD: 128 A/m2; tEC: 90 min; Color: 82%; turbidity: 82%; – (Galvão et al. 2020)
leachate MP-P IED: 1 cm; pH: 7.5–9.5 COD: 40%; BOD: 90%
USA Kraft paper mill Fe as sacrificial electrode CD: 1.5 mA/cm2; tEC: 25 Tannin/lignin: >70%; color: ENC: 0.28–4.43 kWh/ (Wagle et al. 2020)
and BP-S min; IED: 1 cm; pH: 8.3 >95%; COD: > 60% KgCOD and OC:
0.02–0.26 USD/m3
India Real graywater Fe and MP-P Voltage: 14V; tEC: 47 mins; COD: 75.6%; TDS: 78.7%; ENC: 0.0428 kWh/KgCOD (Bajpai et al. 2020)
pH: 7.35; IED: 1 cm; SE turbidity: 93.4%; chloride: and OC: 0.7 USD/KgCOD
(NaCl): 1.5 g/L 63.2%
India Distillery spent wash Al–Al; Fe–Fe CD: 17.9 mA/cm2; pH: 7.2; COD: 98% OC: 5.08 US$/m3 (Khandegar and Saroh 2014)
tEC: 3 h
India Hospital wastewater Fe and MP-P Current: 2.64A; pH: 7.41; COD: 92.81% ENC: 0.06376 kWh/ (Bajpai and Katoch 2020)
tEC: 41.31 min; IED: 1 cm; Chloride: 71.23% KgCOD and OC: 0.75
SE (NaCl): 1.5 g/L USD/KgCOD
Iran Dairy industry Fe, Al, and SS Voltage: 30V; tEC: 120 min; COD: 82% (Ghahremani et al. 2012)
IED: 2 cm
Turkey Real textile wastewater Al and Fe; MP-P CD: 25 mA/cm2; pH: 5; TOC: 42.5%; COD: 18.6%; ENC: 4.16 kWh/m3 and (Bener et al. 2019)
IED: 2 cm Turbidity: 83.5%; TSS: OC: 1.5 $/m3
64.7%; Color: 90.3–94.9%
Turkey Poultry slaughtering house Fe CD: 50 mA/cm2; SE COD: 95.48% – (Eryuruk et al. 2018)
wastewater (Na2SO4): 0–0.1 mg/L;
pH: 3; PAC conc: 0.5 g/L;
flow rate: 0.027 L/min;
tEC: 2 h
Iran Licorice processing waste- Four Fe electrodes; BP-S CD: 350 A/m2; SE (NaCl): Color: 90.1%, COD: 89.4%, - (Abbasi et al. 2020)
water 300 mg/L; IED: 3 cm; pH: Turbidity: 82%, Alkalin-
7; tEC: 81.8 min ity: 73.3%
China Synthetic wastewater con- Al–Al CD: 4 mA/cm2; IED: 1 cm; Turbidity: 99.74% – (Liu et al. 2019b)
taining simulated polymer tEC: 28 min; pH: 5.5 Oil removal: 98.99%
Iran Wastewater from battery Fe–Fe and SS–SS; MP-P CD: 6 mA/cm2 (using Fe Using Fe electrode: ENC using Fe electrode: (Mansoorian et al. 2014)
industry electrode) Lead: 97.2% 1.97 kWh/m2 (Pb)
CD: 8 mA/cm2 (using SS Zinc: 95.5% 1.17 kWh/m2 (Zn)

electrode) Using SS electrode: ENC: using SS electrode:
IED: 2 cm; tEC: 30 min (Fe); Lead: 93.2% 2.53 kWh/m2 (Pb)
tEC: 40 min (SS) Zinc: 92.5% 1.42 kWh/m2 (Zn)
15265
Table 3 (continued)
15266
Turkey Real dyehouse wastewater Fe–Fe and Al–Al; MP-P CD: 65 A/m2; tEC: 80 min; Using Fe electrode: ENC: 1.22–18.57 kWh/ (Kobya et al. 2016)
HRT: 350 min; IED: 20 COD: 85% m3 (Fe)
mm; pH: 5.5; inlet flow TOC: 76% OC: 1.562 $/m3 (Fe)
rate: 0.010 L/min Turbidity: 95% ENC: 1.28–18.8 kWh/m3
Using Al electrode: (Al)
COD: 77% OC: 1.851 $/m3 (Al)
TOC: 72%
Turbidity: 95%
India Synthetic water Mg–Mg CD: 0.2 A/dm2; pH: 7.0; Arsenate: 97.9% ENC: 1.035 kWh/m3 (Vasudevan et al. 2012c)
IED: 5 mm; initial arse-
nate conc: 0.5–1.5 mg/L
India Synthetic solution Alloy of Mg CD: 0.025 A/dm2; pH: 7.0; Copper: 97.2% ENC: 0.996 kWh/m3 (Kamaraj et al. 2013)
IED: 0.5 cm; initial conc:
2 to 10 mg/L
India Synthetic water Alloy of Al CD: 0.2 A/dm2; pH: 7.0; Cadmium: 96.2% ENC: 1.002 kWh/kl (Vasudevan et al. 2011)
IED: 5 mm; initial conc:
10 to 50 mg/L
Libya Synthetic drinking water Al–Al CD: 0.04 A/m2; initial conc: Nickel (II): 99.2% – (Mansour and Hasieb 2012)
25 mg/L; tEC: 35 mins; Cobalt (II): 99.2%
IED: 5 to 25 mm
Egypt Synthetic and real waste- Zn–SS CD: 21 mA/cm2; pH: 7.0; Urea: 66% – (Safwat and Matta 2020)
water IED: 4 cm; SE (MgCl2 and
NaCl): 2 g/L; tEC: 90 min
Korea Livestock wastewater Al–Al; MP-P CD: 30 mA/cm2; tEC: 30 COD: 92.4% ENC: 3.2 Wh/g (COD) (Tak et al. 2015)
min; pH: 8.0; SE (NaCl): 1 Color: 94.2% ENC: 6.2 Wh/g (Color)
g/L; IED: 11 mm
Tanzania Synthetic water Al–Fe; MP-P CD: 9.90 mA/cm2; pH: 7.5; Fluoride: 93% OC: 0.99 $/m3 (Nyangi et al. 2020)
tEC: 50 min; IED: 1.5 cm; Arsenic: 95.2%
initial conc of arsenic: 200
μg/L; initial fluoride conc:
16 mg/L
Iran Paper mill wastewater Al–Al; MP-P CD: 70 mA/cm2; IED: 10 COD: 88.4% – (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh
mm; tEC: 30 mins; pH: 5–7 Color: 99.9% 2011)
India Metal plating industrial Fe–Fe; MP-P Voltage: 8V; pH: 8; IED: 1 Chromium: 96.2% – (Bhagawan et al. 2014)
wastewater cm; tEC: 30 min Nickel: 96.4%

Zinc: 99.9%
Copper: 98%
Lead: 99.5%
Turkey Can manufacturing waste- Al–Al; MP-P CD: 20 A/m2; tEC: 40 min; Aluminum: 99.41% ENC: 1.366 kWh/m3 (Kobya and Demirbas 2015)
water IED: 13 mm Zirconium: 99.38% OC: 0.366 €/m3
Phosphate: 99.80%
Table 3 (continued)
Turkey Synthetic aqueous solution Al–SS; MP-P CD: 80 mA/cm2; tEC: 10 Disperse Blue 60: 99% OC: 15 USD per kg TOC (Ozyonar et al. 2020)
min; pH: 6; conductivity: TOC: 98%
500 μS/cm; initial conc. of
dye: 100 mg/L
CD current density, tEC electrolysis time, IED inter-electrode distance, SE supporting electrolyte, TDS total dissolved solids, TOC total organic carbon, TSS total suspended solids, COD chemi-
cal oxygen demand, BOD biological oxygen demand, Zn zinc, Mg magnesium, Al aluminum, Fe iron, SS stainless steel, MP-P monopolar parallel, BP-S bipolar series, ENC energy consumption

15267
Table 4 Application of EC process in eliminating emerging contaminants (ECs)/PhACs/PCPs/EDCs
15268
Country Wastewater type/effluent Electrode material and Optimum operating condi- Pollutant removal efficiency Some important notes of References
configuration tions (%) respective emerging con-
taminants
Turkey Aqueous solution Al–SS; MP-P CD: 20 A/m2; pH: 7.5; tEC: p-Benzoquinone (BQ): 90% Sources: BQ finds use (Can and Bayramoglu 2010)
20 min; IED: 7 mm; SE in hydroquinone (HQ),
(NaNO3); BQ conc: 50 fungicides, various dyes,
mg/L insecticides, and various
industries like leather,
pharmaceutical, photo-
graphic, and polymer
industry.
Harmful effects: It causes
skin, eye, and respiratory
tract irritation; skin necro-
sis; can cause corneal
ulcers.
Brazil University hospital + aque- Al–Al CD: 13 mA/cm2; SE (NaCl): Sulfamethoxazole (SMX): SMX: Belongs to the (Martins et al. 2011)
ous solution 500 mg/L; IED: 30 mm; 88% group of first systematic
pH: 5–9; tEC: 60 min Trimethoprim (TMP): 33% antibacterial drugs used by
COD: 58% humans.
TMP: It is a synthetic
antibiotic mostly active
against Gram-negative and
positive bacteria.
A combination of SMX and
TMP is used in veterinary
medicine and for the treat-
ment of infections.
Turkey Synthetic SS–SS; MP-P CD (mA/cm2): 29.0–40.0; Naphthalene sulfonate Naphthalene sulfonates (Olmez-Hanci et al. 2012)
tEC (min): 60–118.6; IED: K-acid (C10H9NO9S3): are used as dispersing
3 mm; initial conc of KA 82±4% to 98±2% and solubilizing agents in
(mg/L): 200–1000 COD (%): 66±7 to 92±8; various industries such as
TOC (%): 39±4 to 93±7 pesticides, plasticizers, ion
exchange resins, optical
brighteners, and pharma-
ceutical industries. K-acid
is mainly used in textile
dye industries.

Table 4 (continued)
taminants
France Aqueous solution Al–Al CD: 0.1–0.8 Å; pH: 2–10; Tetracycline hydrochloride Tetracyclines (TCs) anti- (Ouaissa et al. 2014)
tEC: 0–20 min; IED: 2 (TC): 50–98% biotic is the second most
cm; SE: KCl; initial con: used antibiotics world-
10–300 mg/L wide. They are usually
found in surface water,
soils, and groundwater.
These antibiotics give
growth to the antibiotic-
resistant micro-organism
in the environment.
Turkey Aqueous solution Fe–Fe CD: 2.5 mA/cm2; pH: 6.5; Flurbiprofen (FLU): 44% FLU belongs to the phenyl- (Barışçı et al. 2015)
tEC: 20 mins; IED: 0.5 cm; TOC: 66.3% alkanoic acid derivative
SE: Na2SO4 group and is a cyclo-oxy-
genase (COX) inhibitor.
USA Municipal wastewater Nine Al electrode blades Voltage: 85 to 98 V; reten- Estrone (E1): 62% E1, E2, E3, EE2, BPA, (Cook et al. 2016)
were used tion time: 2 min/L; Cur- 17β-estradiol (E2): 60% and NP micropollutants
fall under the category
rent: 8.5 to 15.5 A; tEC: 20 Estriol (E3): 53%

min; IED: 3.18 mm 17α-ethinyl-estradiol (EE2): of endocrine disrup-
68% tive chemicals (EDCs),
Bisphenol-A (BPA): 42% defined as exogenous
Nonylphenol (NP): 98% chemicals that can affect
the hormone system of
living beings. These
chemicals, a low con-
centration, can cause
metabolic and reproduc-
tive disturbances. E1, E2,
E2, and EE2 are estro-
genic EDCs. BPA, which
is used in the industry, is
primarily a monomer used
to produce lacquers, liners
of food-can and thermal
paper. NP is the persistent
and estrogenic end product
of the biodegradation of

the non-ionic surfactant
nonylphenol ethoxylate
(NPEO).
15269
Table 4 (continued)
15270
taminants
India An aqueous solution of Al–Al; MP-P CD: 172.97 A/m2; pH: 8.18; Terephthalic acid (TPA): PTA compounds damage (Garg and Prasad 2016)
purified terephthalic acid SE (NaCl): 1.69 g/L; tEC: 56.21% kidneys, bladder, testis,
(PTA) 63.47 min; IED: 1 cm; Benzoic acid (BA): 59.52% liver, histopathological
ENC: 80.15 kWh/Kg COD Para-toluic acid (p-TA): abnormalities and causes
removed. 45.71% acute, molecular, chronic,
COD: 49.91% and subacute toxicity.
India Synthetic wastewater 18 aluminum electrodes CD: 0.5 A/dm2; pH: 7.77; Acetamiprid: 97.6% Acetamiprid is one of (John et al. 2016)
were used (Al–Al); MP-P tEC: 60 min; SE (NaCl): the most widely used
0.75 g/L third-generation pesticides
belonging to the neonico-
tinoid group. It is used in
controlling sucking insect
pests and is also applied
to various crops and orna-
mental plants.
Finland Synthetic water Fe/Al–SS CD: 20 mA/cm2; initial Oxytetracycline hydrochlo- OCT is the most common (Nariyan et al. 2017)
conc: 50 mg/L; IED: 5 cm; ride (OTC): 93.2% (for Fe) antibiotic used for strep-
tEC: 120 min; ENC: 0.19 and 87.75% (for Al) tomycin and on plants. It
kWh/L is also used in veterinary
medicine and human. It
can also be used for the
treatment of furunculosis
and sea lice infections in
animals.
Iran Pharmaceutical wastewater Fe–Fe CD: 6 mA/cm2; pH: 8.2; Metronidazole (MNZ): MNZ, as a synthetic nitro- (Ahmadzadeh and Dolatabadi
IED: 3 cm; initial MNZ 100% imidazole derivative with 2018)
conc: 21.6 mg/L; tEC: 14.6 antiprotozoal and bacterial
min; ENC: 0.516 kWh/m3 properties, is a type of
drug used to treat infec-
tions caused by bacteria
and protozoa. MNZ is
extensively used in the fish
breeding farm and poultry
industry.
Poland Wastewater + redistilled Al and low carbon steel CD: 18 A/m2; pH: 6.0–7.2; Ampicillin (AMP): 3.6 ± Among AMP, TYL, DOX, (Baran et al. 2018)

water tEC: 36 mins; current: 10 3.2% and STZ pharmaceutical
mA Tylosin tartrate (TYL): 3.1 pollutants, DOX was the
± 0.3% only one that was entirely
Doxycycline (DOX): 96.4% removed by the EC
and 100% process.
Sulfathiazole (STZ): 3.3 ±
0.4%
Table 4 (continued)
taminants
Italy Real municipal wastewater Al–SS CD: 0.3 mA/cm2; initial Diclofenac (DCF): 22% Hydrophobic CBZ has a (Ensano et al. 2019a)
conc: 0.01 mg/L; tEC: 3 h; Carbamazepine (CBZ): 23% greater tendency to be
IED: 5 cm Amoxicillin (AMX): 40% adsorbed on the coagu-
lants, while AMX and
DCF are more likely to
be removed by charge
neutralization and electro-
floatation.
France Synthetic wastewater Fe–Fe CD: 24.04 mA/cm2; pH: 7.0; Ketoprofen (KTP): 96.70% KTP is considered one of (Madi-Azegagh et al. 2019)
tEC: 30 min; initial conc: the most consumed drugs
5 mg/L; IED: 10 mm; SE in the pharma industry and
(NaCl): 3.5 g/L falls under non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs).
Iran Hospital wastewater Al–Fe Voltage: 30V; pH: 7.0; tEC: Cefazolin (CEZ): 94%; CEZ belongs to the first- (Singh and Quraishi 2010;
30 min COD: 85%; turbidity: generation cephalosporin Zhang et al. 2018; Esfand-
94%; ENC: 75 kWh/m3 antibiotic group and is yari et al. 2019)
generally used to treat

bacterial infections of
the skin, urinary tract
infections, biliary tract
infections, joint infections,
etc. However, CEZ shows
few side effects such as
vomiting, allergic reac-
tions, diarrhea, and yeast
infections.
India Aqueous solution Al–Al Voltage: 60V; pH: 7.0; tEC: Norfloxacin (NFX): 98.4% NFX antibiotics belong (Balarak et al. 2020)
45 mins; initial conc: 25 to the fluoroquinolones
mg/L; IED: 2 cm (FQs) family and are
primarily used in medical
and veterinary practices.

15271
Table 4 (continued)
15272
taminants
Iraq Aqueous solution SS–SS CD: 20 mA/cm2; pH: 4.0; Ciprofloxacin (CIP): 93.47% CIP is a second-generation (Mohammed et al. 2021)
IED: 1.5 cm; tEC: 60 min; Levofloxacin (LVX): 88% fluoroquinolone used to
SE (NaCl): 500 mg/L; cure bacterial infections
initial conc: 30 mg/L in humans and animals,
and it can seriously affect
humans, such as diarrhea,
nausea, tremors, and head-
aches. Elevated CIP con-
centrations may result in
severe disorders, including
elevated liver enzymes,
thrombocytopenia, eosino-
philia, leucopenia, and
acute renal failure.
LVX, an active optical
isomer of ofloxacin, is an
antibiotic that belongs to
the quinolones of the third
generation and can lead to
abdominal infections and
pneumonia infections.
Fe iron, Al aluminum, SS stainless steel, MP-P monopolar parallel, CD current density, tEC electrolysis time, IED inter-electrode distance, SE supporting electrolyte, COD chemical oxygen
demand, TOC total organic carbon, ENC energy consumption

Table 5 Application of hybrid–EC/advanced EC process in eliminating emerging contaminants (ECs)
Country Wastewater source Treatment process Operating/experimental conditions Emerging contaminants Removal (%) References
China Synthetic wastewater Pulse electrocoagulation (PE) CD: 19.44 mA/cm2; tEC: 3.5 h; Berberine hydrochloride (BH) 72.8 (Ren et al. 2011)
pulse duty cycle: 0.3, pulse
frequency; 1.0 kHz; IED: 2.0 cm;
anode: Fe; cathode: Fe.
Iran Synthetic wastewater Peroxi-electrocoagulation CD: 20 mA/cm2; H2O2 concentra- Azithromycin COD 95.6 (Yazdanbakhsh et al. 2015)
(H2O2-EC) tion: 2 mg/L; tEC: 60 min; pH:
3.0; initial conc: 190 mg/L; mean
ENC: 2.5 kWh/kg azithromycin;
IED: 20 mm; MP-P connection;
anode and cathode: Fe
China Aqueous solution Electro-enzyme + EC CD: 2.3 mA/cm2; anode: Al; Bisphenol A (BPA) 90–100 (Zhao et al. 2015)
cathode: HRP-GF/Ti; BPA: 5
mg/L; TOC: 20 mg/L; tEC: 20
min; enzymatic activity: 25 U at
30°C; ENC for BPA removal: 3.5
kWh/kg BPA
Turkey Aqueous solution Photochemical oxidation + EC CD: 5 A/m2; UV light power: 24W Hydroquinone (HQ) 91.5 (Akyol et al. 2015)
(37W per dm3 of the solution);
tEC: 60 min; anode: Al; cathode:
SS; IED: 7 mm; MP-P connec-
tion; SE: NaNO3

Taiwan Model solution Lab prepared TGCCM + EC/EF Anode: Al; cathode: SS; SE (NaCl): Phthalate ester 99 (Yang et al. 2016b)
0.2 g/L; cross flow velocity DEHP 99
(CFV): 1.63 cm/s; transmem- DnBP 32
brane pressure (TMP): 294 kPa; Pharmaceutical 70
electric field strength (EFS): CAF 97
range between 20 and 40 V/cm; SMX
retentate recirculation mode: 1 h CLX
in each test; IED: 10 mm; effec-
tive area of filtration: 62.8 cm2
China Aqueous solution H2O2-enhanced EC/electro- CD: 37.5 mA/cm2; pH: 3.77; Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) 93–99 (Yang et al. 2016a)
floatation mixing speed: 180 rpm; initial
conc: 100 mg/L; tEC: 40–90 mins;
anode: Fe; cathode: Fe; IED: 2
cm; SE (NaCl): 1.5 g/L
Taiwan Real municipal wastewater Graphene adsorption + EC/EF Anode: Al/Fe; cathode: SS; adsorp- DnBP 89 ± 2 (Yang et al. 2017)
tion module: laboratory-prepared DEHP 85 ± 3
TTACM; CFV: 1.63 cm/s; TMP: ACE 99 ± 2
294 kPa; EFS: 30 V/cm CAF 94 ± 3
CLX 100 ± 0
SMX 98 ± 2

China Industrial wastewater Membrane filtration (LPRO) + EC CD: 30 mA/cm2; pH: 7.85; tEC: 30 Polyaromatic hydrocarbon com- 90.6–100 (Gong et al. 2017)
min; temperature: 25°C; TMP: pounds (PAHs) 45
400 kPa; stirring speed: 400 rpm; TOC
anode/cathode: Fe; IED: 1 cm
15273
Table 5 (continued)
15274
Country Wastewater source Treatment process Operating/experimental conditions Emerging contaminants Removal (%) References
2 2+
Iran Wastewater from the steel industry EC + photo-fenton (PF) CD: 1.5 mA/cm ; Fe /H2O2: 1.5; Phenol 100 (Malakootian and Heidari 2018)
tEC: 25 min; anode/cathode (Al) COD 98
with one 30-W (UV-C) mercury
lamp in a quartz sheath was
fitted with an Al cover; IED: 3
cm; BP-S type connection; SE
(Na2SO4): 10 mg/L; initial phenol
conc: 50–200 mg/L; ENC: 29.15
kWh/kg COD
Italy Synthetic wastewater MBR + EC (eMBR) Anode: perforated cylindrical Al; DCF 75.25 ± 8.79 (Ensano et al. 2019b)
cathode: SS mesh; IED: 6 cm; CBZ 73.84 ± 9.24
membrane properties: hollow AMX 72.12 ± 10.11
fiber UF module having pore
size of 0.04 μm with an effective
membrane SA of 0.047m2 (placed
vertically); HRT: 19 h; constant
flow rate: 15 LMH; filtration
cycle: 15 min – permeate produc-
tion (14 min 30 s) + backwashing
(30 s); CD: 0.5 mA/cm2; TMP:
30 kPa
Pakistan Real veterinary pharmaceutical Synergic catalytic ozonation + Voltage: 5V; pH: 7.0; ozone dose: Enrofloxacin 100 (Ikhlaq et al. 2020)
wastewater electro-flocculation 0.4 mg/min; catalyst [iron-loaded Amoxicillin 90
zeolite A (Fe–Z)] dose: 1.5 g/L; COD 85.12
anode/cathode: flat Al electrodes;
IED: 20 cm; tEC: 60 min
CD current density, IED inter-electrode distance, tEC electrolysis time, ENC energy consumption, TGCCM graphene-containing ceramic composite tubular membrane, EF electro-filtration,
DEHP di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, DnBP di-n-butyl phthalate, CAF caffeine, SMX sulfamethoxazole, CLX cephalexin, ACE acetaminophen, TTACM TiO2/Al2O3 composite tubular membrane,
LPRO low-pressure reverse osmosis, eMBR electro-membrane bioreactor, DCF diclofenac, CBZ carbamazepine, AMX amoxicillin, EO electro-oxidation

2020), the can-manufacturing industry (Kobya and Demir- mA/cm2 (Ensano et al. 2019a) to 40 mA/cm2 (Olmez-Hanci
bas 2015), paper mill (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh 2011), et al. 2012), 14.6 min (Ahmadzadeh and Dolatabadi 2018) to
hospital (Bajpai and Katoch 2020), and other sources. 3 h (Ensano et al. 2019a), 3 mm (Olmez-Hanci et al. 2012)
The optimal operating conditions of the EC process, such to 5 cm (Nariyan et al. 2017), and 4.0 (Mohammed et al.
as current density (CD), voltage, pH, electrolysis time 2021) to 9.0 (Martins et al. 2011) respectively. Under these
(tEC), and inter-electrode distance (IED), were found to ideal conditions, the EC procedure effectively eliminated
be in the range from 0.004 mA/cm2 (Mansour and Hasieb most micropollutants with more than 90% efficiency. The
2012) to 70 mA/cm2 (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh 2011), 8V most common electrode materials used in the EC process
(Bhagawan et al. 2014) to 30V (Ghahremani et al. 2012), were iron, aluminum, and stainless steel. NaCl was most
3.0 (Eryuruk et al. 2018) to 9.5 (Galvão et al. 2020), 10 often used as a supporting electrolyte to improve the EC
min (Aoudj et al. 2010) to 180 min (Khandegar and Saroh unit’s performance and the solution’s electrical conductiv-
2014), and 1.0 cm (Liu et al. 2019b; Wagle et al. 2020; ity. The EC technology successfully treated many antibiotic
Bajpai et al. 2020) to 4.0 cm (Safwat and Matta 2020), groups such as veterinary medicines, endocrine-disruptive
respectively. The removal efficacy of COD ranged greatly compounds (EDCs), fluoroquinolones (FQs), and various
under the optimum operating condition of the EC process, anti-bacterial classes of groups.
ranging from 18.6% (Bener et al. 2019) to 98.0% (Khande- An EC experiment was conducted by Martins et al.
gar and Saroh 2014). In contrast, the maximum removal (2011), investigating the occurrence of veterinary medicine
efficiency was obtained for color and dye from wastewater such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP)
as 99.2% (Katal and Pahlavanzadeh 2011) and 98% (Aoudj in wastewater discharged from a university hospital in Bra-
et al. 2010). zil. Results showed that the maximum removal efficiency
According to Khandegar and Saroh (2014), in EC opera- for SMX, TMP, and COD was 88%, 33%, and 58%, respec-
tion, aluminum metal as electrodes is very effective in tively, at an optimum operating condition such as current
removing high organic content from distillery wastewater. density of 13 mA/cm2, NaCl concentration of 500mg/L, 60
The optimum value of current density at an initial pH of 7.2 min of electrolysis duration 60, and pH range between 5 and
was 17.9 mA/cm2 for an electrolysis duration of 3h, having 9. Another EC experiment was performed by Cook et al.
a 98% COD removal efficiency. An EC experimented was (2016) to remove six estrogenic EDCs, namely, E1, E2, E3,
demonstrated by Katal and Pahlavanzadeh (2011) to remove EE2, BPA, and NP, from municipal wastewater using Al
COD and color from paper mill wastewater. The optimum electrodes. Experimental results showed that the maximum
value of current density at a pH range between 5 and 7 was removal percentage of the EDCs like E1, E2, E3, EE2, BPA,
70 mA/cm2 for an electrolysis duration of 30 min and their and NP was 62, 60, 53, 68, 42, and 98%, respectively, at
removal effectiveness was 88.4% and 99.9% respectively. an electrolysis time of 20 min. For optimum conditions,
The EC technology was also proved efficient in the treatment the voltage and current were kept between 85–98 V and
of various heavy metals from wastewater. Heavy metals are 8.5–15.5 ampere, respectively. In addition, some compounds
discharged from various industries and are challenging to from the fluoroquinolones (FQs) groups were also success-
treat as they are toxic and non-biodegradable. Bhagawan fully removed by the EC process, such as NFX (Balarak
et al. (2014) conducted an EC experiment to remove heavy et al. 2020) and CIP and LVX (Mohammed et al. 2021),
metals such as Cr, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Zn from metal plating with the removal efficiency of 98.4%, 93.47%, and 88%,
industrial wastewater. Experiments have shown that using respectively.
iron as electrode material, the maximum removal efficiency Table 5 depicts the use of hybrid EC or advanced EC to
of Cr, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Zn was 96.2%, 99.5%, 96.4%, 98%, effectively remove emerging contaminants and micropollut-
and 99.9%, respectively, at an optimum operating condition ants from wastewater. The concept of hybrid EC/advanced
of 8V and pH 8.0. Few heavy metals were also successfully EC was needed to improve the performance and decrease
removed by EC process such as Ni(II) (Mansour and Hasieb the cost of the EC reactor. Integrating different technolo-
2012), Co(II) (Mansour and Hasieb 2012), As (Nyangi et al. gies with EC, such as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs),
2020), Zr (Kobya and Demirbas 2015), and Cd (Vasudevan membrane technology, adsorption, and reverse osmosis
et al. 2011) with removal efficiency of 99.2%, 99.2%, 95.2%, (RO), successfully removes ECs and micropollutants from
99.38%, and 96.2%, respectively. wastewater. Some ECs show almost complete removal
Table 4 illustrates the application of the EC process for (approximately 100%) from wastewater, such as BPA,
the removal of ECs/PhACs/PCPs and EDCs from different phthalate ester, CLX, PFOA, ACE, SMX, PAHs, phenol,
types of wastewaters, including their source of generation and enrofloxacin.
and harmful effects on the environment. The optimum work- An experiment was conducted by Yazdanbakhsh et al.
ing conditions of the EC process, such as CD, tEC, IED, and (2015) to investigate the COD removal of azithromycin from
pH of the solution, were found to be in the range from 0.3 synthetic wastewater by electrochemical oxidation process.

Results revealed that under the optimum operating condi- period should be in the range of 0.004 to 70 mA/cm2, 4.0
tions, the removal efficiency of azithromycin COD reached to 9.0, and 10 to 180 min, respectively, to achieve optimal
95.6% using Fe as electrodes. The optimum values were as operating conditions. Most of the research uses Al and Fe
follows: [current density] = 20mA/cm2, [initial concentra- as electrode materials, with Al having a higher pollutant
tion] = 190 mg/L, [electrolysis duration] = 60 min, [pH] removal efficiency. Furthermore, combining EC with other
= 3.0, [H2O2 concentration] = 2 mg/L, and [mean energy technologies improves EC reactor efficiency as the applied
consumption] = 2.5kWh/kg azithromycin. Another experi- electric current declines, lowering total operating costs.
ment was demonstrated by Yang et al. (2016b) integrating Among the different hybrid–EC technologies, membranes
TGCCM with EC/EF using Al as anode and SS as a cath- coupled with EC tend to be an effective technology, with
ode to remove phthalates and pharmaceutical compounds the benefits of a small footprint, environmental efficiency,
from aqueous solution. Results revealed that the percent- and continuous service without complex handling. EC is
age removal efficiency of phthalates compounds (DEHP the most effective method used to treat different types of
= 99% and DnBP = 99%) and pharmaceutical compounds wastewaters among various decentralized treatment tech-
(CAF = 32%, SMX = 70%, and CLX = 97%) was success- nologies. However, there is a need for advancement in
ful under the optimum operating conditions such as [NaCl certain areas of the EC unit.
concentration] = 0.2 g/L, [CFV] = 1.63 cm/s, [TMP] = 294 Electrochemical process is still under development; many
kPa, [EFS] = 20–40 V/cm, [effective area of filtration] = modifications are recently implemented. Various EC reac-
62.8cm2, and [retention recirculation mode] = 60 min in tors patented are described but are rarely marketed; such
each test. Another study was conducted by Ensano et al. failures are mainly due to reasons like bad circulation of
(2019b) to investigate the removal of pharmaceutical com- effluents in reactor, energy consumption, and voluminous
pounds (DCF, CBZ, and AMX) as recalcitrant organic com- electrodes. The new improvements in EC cell includes hor-
pounds from synthetic wastewater by an electro-membrane izontal flow EC reactor; application of oscillating anode;
bioreactor (eMBR) using perforated Al cylindrical as anode EC with coupled process; concentric tube electrode; use
and stainless steel in mesh form as a cathode. Experimen- of combined Al-Fe electrode; rotated anode; coupled with
tal results revealed that the percentage removal efficiency magnetic field; new vertical flow column reactor; coupled
of pharmaceutical compounds (DCF = 75.25%, CBZ = with ultrasound irradiation; and sealing between electrode
73.84%, and AMX = 72.12%) were successful under the and walls of reactor.
optimum operating conditions such as [current density] = Most of the researchers use a single pollutant (pollutant
0.5 mA/cm2, [TMP] = 30 kPa, [HRT] = 19h, and [constant approach) in an EC batch lab-scale experiment. However,
flow rate] = 15 LMH by using a hollow fiber UF vertically pilot-scale implication (wastewater as a whole approach) is
placed module having pore size of 0.04μm with an effective needed. The application of EC on actual wastewater sam-
membrane SA of 0.047 m2. Under these operating condi- ples is necessary because they are complex, reducing the
tions, the removal efficiency of orthophosphate (PO4–P), efficiency of EC. Integrating EC with other technologies
humic substances (UV254), and ammonia nitrogen (NH4–N) is effective, but more emphasis should be laid on lowering
was found to be 100%, 90.68%, and 72.10%, respectively. the total cost of the EC device. Researchers can concentrate
on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind turbines,
photovoltaic, and biomass rather than the traditional elec-
Conclusion and recommendations tric current supply. To reduce the issue of passivation, more
sustainable and eco-friendly electrode materials should be
The emergence of new pollutants in the ecosystem (par- studied. To minimize the total cost of the EC operation,
ticularly in aquatic systems) has accelerated the investi- a more efficient electrode configuration is also needed.
gation and implementation of various WWT approaches. More research is required in electrode shape and geometry,
In this regard, electrocoagulation outperforms traditional improving EC cell conductivity and reducing energy con-
WWT methods due to multiple advantages such as simple sumption. The findings of this study are beneficial to the
design, short initialization time, less sludge forming, ease research and industrial community, especially for the treat-
of operation, low maintenance needed, and lower operat- ment of municipal and pharmaceutical wastewater. There
ing expense. EC can be used to treat a wide variety of must be more research into the optimization of parameters,
wastewaters, including commercial, residential, rural, and system design, and economic feasibility to explore the pote-
pharmaceutical wastewaters. Furthermore, EC effectively natial of EC integrated system.
separates heavy metals, micropollutants, and dyes from
different types of wastewaters. Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the volunteer
who made suggestions regarding the improvement of this article:
According to the current review, the values of major Prashant Basavaraj Bhagawati, ADCET, Ashta, Maharashtra, India.
operational parameters such as CD, pH, and electrolysis

Also, the authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and Chem Eng Process Process Intensif 49:1176–1182. https://doi.
editor for their positive criticism and valuable suggestions that have org/10.1016/j.cep.2010.08.019
contributed to an improved manuscript. Asaithambi P, Govindarajan R, Yesuf MB et al (2021) Investigation
of direct and alternating current–electrocoagulation process for
Author contribution Mukul Bajpai: conceptualization; methodology; the treatment of distillery industrial effluent: Studies on operating
writing—original draft preparation; writing—reviewing and editing. parameters. J Environ Chem Eng 9:104811. https://doi.org/10.
Surjit Singh Katoch: supervision, resources. Abudukeremu Kadier: 1016/j.jece.2020.104811
writing—reviewing and editing; validation. Adarsh Singh: visualiza- Assadi A, Soudavari A, Mohammadian M (2016) Comparison of elec-
tion; writing—reviewing and editing. trocoagulation and chemical coagulation processes in removing
reactive red 196 from aqueous solution. J Human Environ Heal
Promot 1:172–182. https://doi.org/10.29252/jhehp.1.3.172
Declarations Atari L, Esmaeili S, Zahedi A et al (2019) Removal of heavy met-
als by conventional water treatment plants using poly aluminum
Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable chloride. Toxin Rev 38:127–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/15569
543.2018.1431676
Consent for pubication Not applicable Attour A, Touati M, Tlili M et al (2014) Influence of operating param-
eters on phosphate removal from water by electrocoagulation
Availability of data and materials Not applicable using aluminum electrodes. Sep Purif Technol 123:124–129.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2013.12.030
Competing interest The authors declare no competing interests. Azadi Aghdam M, Kariminia HR, Safari S (2016) Removal of lignin,
COD, and color from pulp and paper wastewater using electro-
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A Review On Electrocoagulation Process For The Rem

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A Review On Electrocoagulation Process For The Rem

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Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022) 29:15252–15281

A review on electrocoagulation process for the removal of emerging

Keywords Coagulation · Electric current · Electric double layer · Hybrid-electrocoagulation · Micropollutants ·

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Fig. 1 Diagram of electric dou-

Fig. 2 Representative diagram

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Fig. 3 Plot between the interac-

Fig. 4 Colloid’s coagulation

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Fig. 5 Plot between pH and

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Fig. 6 Typical EC setup and

Table 1 Reactions at anode Mechanism: 1 Mechanism: 2

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Fig. 7 Main mechanism of solu-

Table 2 Pros and cons of the electrocoagulation process

Principle oxidized at the electrodes (Hakizimana et al. 2017; Shahedi

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Type of power supply Electrolysis time

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Fig. 9 Different modes of electrode arrangement in an EC reactor (Moussa et al. 2017)

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removal efficiency of the pollutants (37% for TOC, 72% U × I × tEC

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rent: 8.5 to 15.5 A; tEC: 20 Estriol (E3): 53%

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generally used to treat

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tion; SE: ­NaNO3

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tion; SE: NaNO3