Many water treatments require the precipitation of the contaminants in the water. For these applications, electrocoagulation competes with chemicals such as metal salts (e.g., alumn, ferric chloride, etc) and lime. Both technologies have advantages and disadvantages for particular applications. In developing a water treatment solution, it is important to understand the relative pros, cons and costs of the specific technology chosen. In this session, examples of acid mine drainage and landfill leachate will be compared. Ways to analyze the approach, results, costs, and recommendations about the appropriate solution will be provided.
After this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Differentiate the chemistry of electrocoagulation and metal salts in water treatment.
2. Explain the relative effectiveness of using chemicals or electrocoagulation.
3. Compare dose levels of coagulant between electrocoagulation and chemicals.
4. Describe examples of life cycle costs of the two approaches.
Ideal Audience: Designers of water treatment systems.
Level: Intermediate