The treatment of black-odorous water using tower bipolar electro-flocculation including the removal of phosphorus, turbidity, sulfion, and oxygen enrichment

doi:10.1007/s11783-020-1310-5

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (2) : 18 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1310-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The treatment of black-odorous water using tower bipolar electro-flocculation including the removal of phosphorus, turbidity, sulfion, and oxygen enrichment

Huan He¹, Qinjin Yu¹, Chaochao Lai¹, Chen Zhang¹, Muhan Liu¹, Bin Huang^1,²(

), Hongping Pu¹, Xuejun Pan^1,²(

)

¹. Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
². Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Sequestration and Pollution Control in Soils, Kunming 650500, China

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Abstract

• An innovative bubble column tower BPE was designed to treat the black-odorous water.

• PO₄³⁻, S²⁻ and turbidity were removed, and dissolved oxygen was enriched in the BPE.

• An aluminum bipolar electrode gave the best oxygen enrichment and pollutant removal.

• Changes of microorganisms confirmed the improvement in water quality achieved.

The large amount of municipal wastewater discharged into urban rivers sometimes exceeds the rivers’ self-purification capacity leading to black-odorous polluted water. Electro-flocculation has emerged as a powerful remediation technology. Electro-flocculation in a bubble column tower with a bipolar electrode (BPE) was tested in an attempt to overcome the high resistance and weak gas-floatation observed with a monopolar electrode (MPE) in treating such water. The BPE reactor tested had a Ti/Ta₂O₅-IrO₂ anode and a graphite cathode with an iron or aluminum bipolar electrode suspended between them. It was tested for its ability to reduce turbidity, phosphate and sulphion and to increase the concentration of dissolved oxygen. The inclusion of the bipolar electrode was found to distinctly improved the system’s conductivity. The system’s electro-flocculation and electrical floatation removed turbidity, phosphate and sulphion completely, and the dissolved oxygen level improved from 0.29 to 6.28 mg/L. An aluminum bipolar electrode performed better than an iron one. Changes in the structure of the microbial community confirmed a significant improvement in water quality.

Keywords Black-odorous water Bipolar electrodes Flocculation Floatation Oxygen enrichment Turbidity

Corresponding Author(s): Bin Huang,Xuejun Pan

Issue Date: 06 August 2020

Cite this article:

Huan He,Qinjin Yu,Chaochao Lai, et al. The treatment of black-odorous water using tower bipolar electro-flocculation including the removal of phosphorus, turbidity, sulfion, and oxygen enrichment[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2021, 15(2): 18.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-020-1310-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2021/V15/I2/18

Tab.1 Main water quality parameters of the simulated black-odorous water

Fig.1 The flocculation reactor: (a) the anode cell; (b) the reaction cell; (c) the cathode cell; (d) the bipolar electrode. Labels (1, 2 and 3) indicate the sampling ports.

Fig.2 Water quality values in the MPE experiments using MMO, Fe and Al anodes at 60 V. The dissolved oxygen concentration (a), pH value (b), removal rates of PO₄³⁻, S²⁻ and turbidity after 9 h (c), dissolved iron concentration in Fe-BPE (d).

Fig.3 Water quality values in the Fe-BPE experiments at 40 V and 60 V. The pH value (a), dissolved oxygen concentration (b), removal rates of PO₄³⁻, S²⁻ and turbidity after 9 h (c), dissolved iron concentration in Fe-BPE (d).

Fig.4 Water quality values in the Al-BPE operating at 40 V and 60 V. The pH value (a), dissolved oxygen concentration (b), removal rates of PO₄³⁻, S²⁻ and turbidity after 9 h (c).

Fig.5 Scanning electron micrographs of (a) suspended particles in the Fe-BPE (× 50000), (b) bottom precipitate in the Fe-BPE (× 50000), (c) bottom precipitate in the Al-BPE reactor (× 50000)

Fig.6 The reactor used in these experiments and a schematic representation of a continuous-flow version.

Fig.7 Changes in the microbial community in a BPE reactor. Shannon index of different sediment (a), relative distribution of bacterial classes (b) (The sediments were generated at 60 V. Black water is the initial simulated black-odorous water before treatment).

Tab.2 The energy consumption in the BPE over 9 h

Fig.8 The energy consumed in (a) oxygen production, (b) the removal of turbidity, (c) S²⁻ removal and (d) PO₄³⁻ removal.

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