Electromagnetic Field-enhanced Novel Tubular Electrocoagulation Cell for Effective and Low-power Treatment of Beet Sugar Industry Wastewater

Abstract To enhance the treatment of real industrial wastewater effluents, a new design of an electromagnetic field-enhanced electrochemical cell consisting of a tubular screen roll anode and two cathodes (an inner and outer cathode) has been used. The treatment of real beet sugar mill effluent by the electrocoagulation process has been studied. The cell has a uniform current distribution, a low IR drop, and good mixing. Different parameters have been investigated, like: current density (CD), effluent concentration, NaCl concentration, rpm, number of screen layers per anode, and the effect of the addition of an electromagnetic field. The results showed that, under the optimum conditions of CD at 3.13 Am − 2 , two screens per anode, NaCl concentration of 12 g/L, and rotation speed at 120 rpm, the percentage of color removal was 85. 5% and the electrical energy consumption was 3.595 kWhm − 3 . In addition, the presence of electromagnetic field enhanced the energy consumption for the wastewater treatment by accelerating the coagulation step as indicated by simulation results. Numerically, applying the magnetic field resulted in performing a color removal efficiency of 97.7% using a power consumption of 2.569 KWh/m 3 which is considered a distinct achievement in industrial wastewater treatment process. This design has proven to be a promising one for continuous treatment of industrial effluents and to be a possible competent to the currently available techniques due to the high removal efficiency and low energy consumption.