Arsenic removal by electrocoagulation using combined Al-Fe electrode system and characterization of products

Combination of electrodes, such as aluminum and iron in a single electrochemical cell provide an alternative method for removal of arsenic from water by electrocoagulation. The removal process has been studied with a wide range of arsenic concentration (1-1000 ppm) at different pH (4-10). Analysis of the electrochemically generated by-products by XRD, XPS, SEM/EDAX, FT-IR, and Mössbauer Spectroscopy revealed the expected crystalline iron oxides (magnetite (Fe3O4), lepidocrocite (FeO(OH)), iron oxide (FeO)) and aluminum oxides (bayerite (Al(OH)3), diaspore (AlO(OH)), mansfieldite (AlAsO4·2(H2O)), as well as some interaction between the two phases. The amorphous or very fine particular phase was also found in the floc. The substitution of Fe3+ ions by Al3+ ions in the solid surface has been observed, indicating an alternative removal mechanism of arsenic in these metal hydroxides and oxyhydroxides by providing larger surface area for arsenic adsorption via retarding the crystalline formation of iron oxides.