Removal of Humic Acid from Groundwater by Electrocoagulation

Abstract

Abstract With this study, we investigated an approach of applying an electrocoagulation method for the removal of humic acid from groundwater. Aluminium electrodes were selected in the experiment. Some major experimental factors, such as electrode distance, current densities and pH values were explored. Results suggest that, given a small electrode interval and/or a high current density, a lower pH value leads to an improved removal rate of humic acid. Under acid conditions with a current density 47.6 A/m2, for instance, humic acid concentrations were reduced from 20 mg/L to 0.43 mg/L which resulted in the removal of 97.8% of the humic acid. This encouraging result demonstrated that our electrocoagulation method is effective in the removal of humic acid from groundwater.