Factors Affecting Electrodialysis Unit Performance in the Removal of Copper from Wastewaters and Aquatic Environment Treatment

Abstract

Wastewater treatment and removal of heavy metals are of great importance, especially in terms of industry, economy, environment and public health. Electrodialysis desalination mode is an effective process for treating metals in contaminated solutions and for further recovery of metals to new uses. In this work, the removal of copper ions from the solution using a recirculating electrodialysis system was studied. Different factors affecting ED performance, such as applied voltage, pH, flow rate, and metal ion concentration on metal removal efficiency, energy consumption, and current efficiency were investigated. The stainless-steel 316 (SS 316) electrode was used as an anode and a cathode and has the advantage of a low corrosion rate. The optimum conditions for 99.59 % removal of 200 mg/L of copper in 60 min are 18 V, pH 4, and a flow rate of 800 ml/min to produce a dilute solution of 0.83 mg/L Cu2+ (<1.3 mg/L), which is within the acceptable limits and suitable for discharges into the environment. Additionally, the current efficiency was 87.78%, the flux was calculated to be 7.84 µmol/m2m, and the energy consumption was 1.73 Wh/L. The study shows that the electrodialysis method can be used efficiently for the removal of copper ions from wastewater.