DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v28i5.32

Keywords: Electrocoagulation, green chemistry, river water, clean water

Abstract

River pollution caused by domestic and industrial discharges has become a major environmental concern. Conventional water treatment often requires large amounts of chemical, generates substantial sludge, and incurs high operational costs, while the use of low-cost recycled electrodes in electrocoagulation remains insufficiently explored. Therefore, green alternatives are needed to improve water quality. Electrocoagulation is a water treatment process that forms coagulants to remove pollutants from wastewater by applying an electric current offers an alternative solution as a green technology for the treatment of polluted river water. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the efficiency of electrocoagulation using aluminum electrodes from canned drinks as a green technology method for river water quality and to determine optimum operating conditions. In this study, river water was treated by electrocoagulation method using eight aluminum plates electrode from canned drinks measuring 6x6 cm, and a reactor measuring 12x6x8 cm. The electrocoagulation process was carried out under varying contact times (10-45 minutes), electrode distances (1-2 cm), and applied voltages (6 to 12 V). The optimum operating conditions were obtained at a contact time of 40 min, an electrode distance of 1 cm, and an applied voltage of 12 V. Under these conditions, the electrocoagulation process effectively reduced dissolved solids and conductivity while maintaining favorable pH conditions for floc formation. Kinetic analysis showed that the pseudo-first-order model (R² = 0.9611) described the electrocoagulation process better than the pseudo-second-order model (R² = 0.8940), suggesting that the removal process was predominantly governed by physical adsorption onto aluminum hydroxide flocs. In addition, the proposed system demonstrated lower energy consumption and substantially lower estimated operating and equipment costs than a representative conventional laboratory-scale electrocoagulation system, highlighting its potential as a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach for small-scale river water treatment.