Innovative electrochemical process for a total removal and/or separation of soluble heavy metals

Abstract

This study aims to extend an innovative electrochemical process for a total elimination and/or separation of different soluble heavy metals. This objective is very important because today the water pollution, due to intense anthropogenic activities by toxic chemical substances and heavy metals in particular, becomes a serious problem for environment and human health. In this context, we have developed recently an efficient electrochemical process for removing soluble Pb(II) as adherent oxide(s) films on conductive substrate, leading to reach directly acceptable concentration levels for the environment and drinking water, and even in a complex medium. In the present study, this electrochemical process of depollution was extended to remove separately other heavy metals, and to recover them in the form of adherent films according to the same principle. The adequate parameters were researched and tested for each heavy metals present alone before to be applied on a synthetic aqueous solution containing a mixture of the studied heavy metals such as Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Cd(II). In complement, some tests were performed with success on effluents, coming from wastewater plant (WWTP) containing different heavy metals, confirming the real interests of this innovative electrochemical treatment. These all results are very promising for future applications either for wastewater depollution either for very easy separation of different heavy metals, which generally requires complex and energy consuming chemical steps.