Silica particles settling characteristics and removal performances of oxide chemical mechanical polishing wastewater treated by electrocoagulation technology

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of removing silica particles and reducing turbidity from oxide chemical mechanical polishing (oxide-CMP) wastewater. Based on the dynamic characteristics of batch electrocoagulation, three operating stages (lag, reactive, and stabilizing) are proposed to identify the relationships among the zeta potential of the silica particles, solution turbidity, and the corresponding mean particle size of the silica. Experimental results show that the silica particles were destabilized and settled at the critical mean particle size, which was estimated to be above 520 nm after 10 min, and the corresponding turbidity removal mostly occurred during the reactive stage. Furthermore, the corresponding mean particle size varied from 520 to 1900 nm as the treatment time progressed from 10 to 20 min, which also occurred during the reactive stage. Several parameters, including different electrode pairs, electrolyte concentration, applied voltage, and the optimum condition of power input were investigated. Experimental results indicate that a Fe/Al electrode pair is the most efficient choice of the four electrode pair combinations in terms of energy consumption. The optimum electrolyte concentration and applied voltage were found to be 200 ppm NaCl and 30 V, respectively.