Studies of autocatalytic electrocoagulation reactor for lead removal from simulated wastewater

The removal of heavy metals from wastewater using efficient methods has caught the attention of scientists in recent years. One of these methods is the electrocoagulation technique which is widely studied and employed around the world. The aim of the present work was the study of the autocatalytic behavior of an electrocoagulation reactor that consisted of triple aluminum tubes which were constructed in a concentric manner, putting cathode electrode in between the tubes of the anode electrode. The operational parameters were the electrolysis time (2-30) min., initial lead concentration (10-300) ppm, electric current (0.2-2.6) Amps., and the mixing speed of the neutral solution was 150 rpm. Results show that electrocoagulation reactor seems to be an autocatalytic reactor which improved the kinetics of the adsorption process to remove lead from the polluted solution.