(710d) Removal of Trihalomethanes (THMs) By Electro-Coagulation Process Using Aluminium Plate

Nowadays, chlorine is commonly used as the disinfectants in water treatment process. However, it would react with nature organic matter (NOM) to form disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and Haloacetic acids (HAAs). The above THMs presented in drinking water have been considered as toxic compounds due to the risks Bladder cancer, rectal cancer, colon cancer and brain cancer according to the laboratory animals. The standard regulation for the concentration of THMs in drinking water is 80 ug/L in European Union and Taiwan. On the other hand, the USEPA formulated the standard concentration for THMs of 80 ug/L and would be further restricted to 40 ug/L in the future. Therefore, the removal of DBPs in drinking water be an important issue in environment engineering.

Electrocoagulation (EC) is an electrochemical process for treating wastewater using sacrificial anodes to generate coagulant precursors into solution.  Aluminum ions would be released from the sacrificial anode instead of adding traditional coagulants, e.g., aluminum salts, thereby increasing the treatment efficiency of chemical precipitation and reducing the consumption of chemicals.  As the result, the objectives of this investigation are (1) to evaluate the removal efficiency of THMs by applying the EC process in a batch reactor, and (2) investigate the effects of different operating conditions including initial pH, surfactant dose, charge loading and electrical conductivity on the removal efficiency of THMs, and (3) determine the optimized conditions for EC operation.