Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133

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Desalination
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / d e s a l

The influence of operational parameters on elimination of cyanide from wastewater

using the electrocoagulation process
Gholamreza Moussavi a,⁎, Farzad Majidi a, Mahdi Farzadkia b
a
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
b
Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The electrocoagulation process (ECP) was investigated for the removal of cyanide from wastewater in batch and
Received 16 May 2011 continuous operation under different conditions. The batch experiments indicated that an iron–aluminum
Received in revised form 26 June 2011 electrode arrangement as anode–cathode attained the highest removal efficiency. The increase of the current
Accepted 27 June 2011
densities of 2 to 15 mA/cm2 resulted in an increase of cyanide removal from 43% to 91.8% after 20 min of reaction
Available online 20 July 2011
in the absence of aeration. Under similar conditions, aeration of the reactor enhanced removal efficiencies from
Keywords:
45% to 98%. Continuous operation of the ECP reactor with various hydraulic retention times (HRT) led to an
Wastewater increase of cyanide removal from 57% at an HRT of 15 min to complete elimination at an HRT of 140 min. Thus, we
Cyanide conclude that electrocoagulation is a cost-effective promising process for efficient treatment of cyanide-laden
Elimination wastewater.
Electrocoagulation process © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction coagulation/flocculation system for the separation of the used-up

adsorbent.
Cyanide is a carbon/nitrogen compound that is highly toxic and Therefore, attention has been focused on the development of an
causes several health problems in the people exposed [1]. Cyanide is efficient alternative treatment process. One of the recently considered
usually present in various forms, such as ionic, molecular HCN, salt processes for treating contaminated water and wastewater is the
and metal-complexes, in the effluent from different industries electrocoagulation process (ECP). In this technique, metal precipitates
including gold extraction, metal electroplating, metal processing, such as hydroxides, polyhydroxides and/or oxyhydroxides are gener-
automobile manufacturing, steel tempering, mining, photography, ated in situ [7,8] via electrochemical oxidation of different sacrificial
pharmaceuticals, coal coking, ore leaching and plastics [2–4]. To anodes such as iron or aluminum, thus overcoming the requirement for
preserve human and environmental health, wastewater containing external coagulants [9]. This unique feature has made ECP a simple,
cyanide has to be treated in a viable process for removal of cyanide reliable, and cost effective technique without having to add external
before being released into the environment. Different techniques have chemicals [10] to remove contaminants from water and wastewater.
been evaluated for to remove cyanide from contaminated wastewater, Therefore, compared to conventional chemical coagulation, the main
including oxidation/precipitation, adsorption, and biodegradation. advantages of ECP include, (a) a lower amount of coagulant ions
Although biological processes are the most often applied techniques required, (b) a higher rate of contaminant removal, (c) no need to add
due to their cost-effectiveness for treating wastewater containing chemicals, thus preventing secondary pollution and reduction of
biodegradable contaminants, they are to be not efficient for treating amount of generated sludge needing disposal, (d) low reaction time
cyanide-laden wastewater because of the inhibitory and/or toxicity of and thus small size of the reactor, and (e) simple operation and
cyanide on microbial metabolism [5]. maintenance [9,11–14]. Moreover, the hydrogen gas generated in the
Several adsorbents have been investigated for their effectiveness cathode causes mixing of the suspension in the reactor, thus enhancing
in removing cyanide from contaminated solutions ([6] and references flocculation and thus overall performance [15]. These features make ECP
therein), and some of them had considerable efficiency. Nonetheless, technically and economically more efficient than conventional
the main concern from the operational viewpoint is the separation of coagulation.
the adsorbent from the liquid. In fact, it is necessary for the adsorption The capability of ECP for the removal of several organic and inorganic
to be followed with a solid/liquid separation unit such as a filtration or contaminants including arsenic [9], dyes [16], and chromium (VI) [17]
has been previously investigated with a high degree of efficacy in most
of the studies. Due to the aforementioned merits of ECP, and to extend its
application for pollution control, it is very valuable to investigate the
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 98 21 82883827; fax: + 98 21 82883825. performance of ECP in eliminating other contaminants, such as cyanide,
E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Moussavi). which poses a great environmental and public health risk. The literature

0011-9164/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.desal.2011.06.052
128 G. Moussavi et al. / Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133

on cyanide removal from wastewater using electrocoagulation process including a peristaltic pump (in the continuous operation mode).
is very rare. For instance, Kobya et al. [18] reported 99.7% cyanide The ECP cell had a working volume of 250 mL. Considering the
removal from an electroplating rinse water in a batch electrocoagulation dimensions of the electrodes as well as their submergence depth
process. However, to the best of our knowledge from reviewing the (Section 2.1), this provides an electrode surface area to reactor volume
literature, no report is available to date on the removal of cyanide from ratio of 16 m 2/m 3 in the reactor. The direct current was supplied by a
wastewater using the continuous-flow electrocoagulation process. power supply instrument (SANJESH TEK, 8051) in which the current
Accordingly, the present study was an evaluation of laboratory scale voltage/density could be regulated at a given level via the switches
ECP for the removal of cyanide from wastewater. The effectiveness of installed on the instrument.
iron and aluminum electrodes in monopolar and bipolar arrangements The ECP reactor was operated in both batch and continuous modes.
was evaluated. Once the best performing electrode array was obtained, For batch tests, 250 mL of the wastewater containing a known
the influence of aeration (presence/absence), current density concentration of cyanide was poured into the reactor equipped with
(2–15 mA/cm 2), electrical conductivity (1.35 to 9.36 mS/cm) and the previously described electrodes; the density of the electrical current
reaction time (2–50 min) was studied with the performance of the was regulated at the desired value, the electrical current was established
selected ESP for the removal of cyanide. Finally, to examine the between electrodes, and the reaction was started and allowed to
capability of ECP for treating continuous flow cyanide-contaminated continue up to the specified time. The suspension was then filtered
streams, the efficacy of ECP for the removal of cyanide from wastewater through a 0.45 micron pore size paper filter, and the filtrate analyzed for
was investigated in the continuously-operated ECP reactor at hydraulic residual cyanide. At the beginning of each test, the electrodes were
retention times (HRT) of 15 to 140 min. washed with 1 N HCl solution and then rinsed with distilled water. The
content of the reactor was stirred either magnetically or by aeration,
2. Materials and ,methods depending on the operational conditions. The lost amount of anode
weight, when required, was determined by subtracting the weight of
2.1. Materials the electrodes before and after the experiment. The second step of the
experiment was the operation of ECP in continuous mode. In this step,
Synthetic cyanide-laden wastewater was prepared by dissolving the cyanide-laden wastewater was continuously injected into the
analytical grade (Merck Co.) NaCN into tap water; the desired bottom of the reactor by a peristaltic pump (WATSON MARLOW
concentration of cyanide was obtained by dissolving a specific mass of 101U/R). The electrocoagulated suspension exited the reactor through a
NaCN in a known volume of water. All chemicals used in the valve located at a distance of 10 cm from the bottom (the working
experiments were of analytical grade. Iron and aluminum metals volume was 250 mL) and was collected in a container. The ECP was
prepared locally were used as electrodes. The electrodes were thin operated at different continuous flow rates ranging from 0.7 to
plates (0.2 cm thickness) of aluminum (Al) and/or iron (Fe), each with a 6.7 mL/min, corresponding to hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15 to
width of 2 cm and a submerged length of 10 cm. 140 min. The suspension aliquots at each HRT were taken from the
container and filtered; the filtrate was then analyzed for residual
2.2. ECP reactor setup and procedure cyanide as stated above. All tests were carried out at a pH of 11.5 and
room temperature (25 ± 3 °C). The wastewater pH was adjusted at the
The electrocoagulation unit shown in Fig. 1 consisted of a cylindrical desired value using 1 N NaOH solution.
glass cell, in which the anode and cathode electrodes were fixed at a The electrodes were selected from iron and aluminum materials.
distance of 3 cm from each other, a direct current power supply, an At the beginning of the batch experiments, several arrangements of
air-supply system, a magnetic stirrer, and a wastewater feeding system electrodes were tested, including a monopolar iron array, a monopolar

2 2

1
5

(1: ECP cell, 2: electrodes, 3: magnet, 4: stirrer, 5: power supply, 6: wires)

Fig. 1. A schematic representation of the ECP experimental setup.
 G. Moussavi et al. / Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133 129

aluminum array, iron as the anode and aluminum as the cathode, and superior anode material and arrangement depends strongly on the type
aluminum as the anode and iron as the cathode. The most effective of contaminant(s) and on the operational conditions. The reaction
arrangement at which the highest cyanide removal under selected occurring in the ECP cell with the best electrode array can be written as
conditions was attained was then selected for further experiments. follows:
Thereafter, the influence of current density, ranging from 2 to
15 mA/cm2, aeration, and reaction time (from 2 to 50 min) on the • Anodic reactions:
performance of ECP for eliminating cyanide from the wastewater was
2þ −
evaluated with the most efficient electrode arrangement. During the FeðsÞ →FeðaqÞ þ 2e ð1Þ
second step of the reactor, the efficacy of continuous ECP in removing
þ −
cyanide from real wastewater was investigated at HRTs between 15 and H2 O→2H þ 1=2O2 þ 2e ð2Þ
140 min. The experimental runs and conditions are given in Table 1.
• Cathodic reaction:

2.3. Analysis − –
2H2 O þ 2e →H2ðgÞ þ 2OH ð3Þ

The concentration of cyanide was measured by titration against a • Liquid bulk reactions:
standardized AgNO3 solution as described in the Standard Methods [19]. 2þ
The weight loss of the electrodes was determined by weighing them 2FeðaqÞ þ 3=2O2 þ 3H2 O→2FeðOHÞ3ðSÞ ð6bpHb10Þ ð4Þ
before and after the reaction using a 5 digit electrical balance. The
nFeðOHÞ3 →Fen ðOHÞ3n ð5Þ
amount of sludge generated was measured by filtering the total volume
of suspension after completing the desired test according to the • Cyanide removal
procedure detailed in the Standard Methods [19]. The sludge generated
−
in the ECP was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM, CNðaqÞ þ Iron hydroxide floc→CN–Fe precipitate complex: ð6Þ
Philips XL-30), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR, Nicolet spectrom-
eter) spectroscopy. Accordingly, the main mechanism involved in the removal of
cyanide from the wastewater by ECP might be (a) Fe oxidation into
3. Results and discussion ferrous ions (Eq. 2) and concurrent water electrolysis on the surface of
anode, resulting in the generation of oxygen (Eq. (3)); (b) oxidation of
3.1. Effect of electrode arrangement ferrous ions into ferric ones through reaction with oxygen molecules
and subsequent formation of iron hydroxide/polyhydroxide/polyhy-
Four electrode arrangements (based on Fe and Al electrodes) were droxyoxide precipitates (Eqs. (5) and (6)) depending on the solution pH
investigated for cyanide removal in the batch ECP under the conditions [7]; and (c) interaction of cyanide ions with iron precipitates (Eq. (6)),
specified in Table 1. Fig. 2 shows the effectiveness of the electrode thereby eliminating cyanide from the solution.
arrangements in cyanide removal under similar operational conditions. Based on the reactions, and taking into consideration the pH of the
According to Fig. 2, the arrangement of anode–cathode materials has a solution in the reactor (ca. pH= 9.5), the predominant coagulant
pronounced influence on cyanide removal. In fact, efficiencies of around species formed in the ECP cell is deduced to be monomeric [Fe(OH)3]?
93%, 87%, 35% and 32% cyanide removal were obtained for the anode– and/or polymeric nFe(OH)3 → Fen(OH)3n? iron hydroxide precipitates
cathode electrode arrays of Fe–Al, Fe–Fe, Al–Al, and Al–Fe, respectively. [20]. Therefore, the surface complexation of cyanide ions with iron
Therefore, it is observed that the sacrificial electrode of Fe in the Fe–Al precipitates formed and cyanide enmeshment in the porous hydroxide
arrangement attained the highest cyanide removal under the selected precipitates [21] might be the predominant mechanisms of cyanide
conditions. The better performance of Fe than Al as the sacrificial removal in the ECP under these conditions.
electrode is related to the higher oxidation potential of Fe (−0.447 V)
compared to that of Al (−1.662 V) and consequently the higher 3.2. Effect of aeration
oxidation rate for Fe than for Al [17]. The greater effectiveness of the
arrangement of Fe–Al can be attributed to the higher electrode potential Fig. 3 compares the effect of the presence or absence of aeration on
gradient [20] and thus higher oxidation potential between anode– cyanide removal efficiency in ECP using Fe–Al metal plates as anode–
cathode compared to that of the other arrangements. These resulted in cathode electrodes under the conditions specified in Table 1. Fig. 3
the generation of higher coagulant agents and thus an improvement in shows that the cyanide removal percentage was higher in ECP with
the cyanide removal percentage. aeration than that without aeration under the conditions evaluated. The
The superiority of Fe compared to Al as the sacrificial electrode in the influence of aeration on the cyanide removal was more pronounced in
electrocoagulation process has been also reported by other researchers the initial period of the reaction. Based on data shown in Fig. 3, the
for the removal of different organic compounds [14,16,21]. In contrast, cyanide removal in ECP without aeration increased to around 94% when
El-Naas et al. [15] observed a greater performance for Al compared to Fe the reaction time was increased to 30 min. However, when the reactor
as an electrode for ECP in treating refinery wastewater. Thus, the was aerated, complete cyanide removal was accomplished at a reaction

Table 1
Experimental runs and conditions.

Run Experiment Operational conditions

Mode Current (mA/cm2) Electrode (anode–cathode) Aeration Reaction time (min)

1 Effect of type of electrode Batch 15 Fe–Fe, Fe–Al, Al–Al, Al–Fe No 20

2 Effect of aeration Batch 15 Fe–Al No/Yes 20
3 Effect of current density and reaction time Batch 2–15 Fe–Al Yes 2–50
4 Sludge analysis – 15 Fe–Al Yes 30
5 Effect of HRT Continuous 15 Fe–Al Yes 15–140 (HRT)
130 G. Moussavi et al. / Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133

100 100
Cyanide removal (%)

80

Cyanide removal (%)

cyanide removal 80

60
60

40
40
15 mA/cm2 (30 V)
20 10 mA/cm2 (20 V)
20 4 mA/cm2 (10 V)
0 2 mA/cm2 (5 V)
Fe-Al Fe-Fe Al-Al Al-Fe
0
Electrode arrangement (anode-cathode) 0 10 20 30 40 50
Reaction time (min)
Fig. 2. Effect of electrode materials on cyanide removal in the ECP (cyanide concentration=
300 mg/L; current density=15 mA/cm2; reaction time=20 min; no aeration).
Fig. 4. Effect of current density on cyanide removal in the ECP (cyanide concentration=
300 mg/L; current density=2-15 mA/cm2; Fe-Al electrode; reaction time=2–50 min).

time of 30 min. This finding suggests a significant contribution of current density applied to the electrodes. Therefore, the influence of
aeration on the performance of ECP in the elimination of cyanide. current density between 2 and 15 mA/cm2 on the performance of ECP
To determine the contribution of the aeration, the amount of sludge for removal of cyanide versus reaction time was investigated, under the
generated in the reaction with and without aeration (at a current conditions given in Table 1. The results are depicted in Fig. 4, which
density of 15 mA/cm2 and a reaction time of 20 min) was quantified shows an increase in the cyanide removal efficiency over time with
(data not shown). It was observed that the amount of sludge generated increasing current density. Based on the plots shown in Fig. 4, the
in the presence of aeration was around twice as much as that when the influence of the current density is more pronounced in the initial periods
aeration pump was off. Therefore, the positive influence of aeration on of the reaction. According to the results depicted in Fig. 4, the cyanide
the performance of ECP can be explained to the effect that aeration removal increased from 59% to around 90% after 50 min of reaction
oxidized the ferrous ions released from the sacrificial anode into the when the current density was elevated from 2 to 10 mA/cm2. Further
solution bulk to ferric ions thus forming more gelatinous hydroxide increase of current density to 15 mA/cm 2 resulted in the complete
precipitates. This in turn improved cyanide removal through increased removal of cyanide after 30 min of reaction. Therefore, ECP is a very
adsorption onto the formed precipitates. Moreover, aeration improved efficient and promising process for the treatment of high concentration
mixing of the reactor's content, which resulted in the increased size of cyanide-containing wastewater in a relatively short reaction time.
flocs and in improved contact between precipitates and the target The improvement of ECP performance with an increase in current
contaminant, leading to an enhancement of the adsorption of voltage can be explained by taking into consideration Faraday's law and
contaminants onto the flocs. Moreover, aeration has additional the fact that anode (Fe) sacrifice, hence coagulant generation, was
advantages including creating turbulence in the reactor, thus preventing increased with the increase of the current density applied between
the deposition of precipitates on the anode and preventing anode electrodes [16,22,23]. This explanation was experimentally confirmed
deactivation, and limiting the release of ferrous irons to the environ- by measuring the loss in anode (Fe) weight as a function of the applied
ment through the effluent. Both of these features resulted in current density at a given reaction time. Fig. 5 indicates both the anode
improvement of the performance of ECP. (Fe) weight loss and cyanide removal versus the applied current
densities for the 30 min reaction time, whereby complete cyanide
3.3. Effect of current density and reaction time removal was attained under the selected conditions. As seen in Fig. 5, the
anode weight loss, i.e. Fe sacrifice, increased almost linearly with the
The amount of coagulating ions released from the sacrificial anode increase in current density, corresponding to an improvement of
into the solution in an electrocoagulation reactor is affected by the cyanide removal efficiency. It is therefore confirmed that iron hydroxide

100 100 0.4

Anode (Fe) weight loss (g)
Cyanide removal (%)

80
Cyanide removal (%)

80 0.3

with aeration 60
60
without aeration 0.2
40
40
cyanide removal (%) 0.1
20
20 anode experimental weight loss (g)
anode theoretical weight loss (g)
0 0.0
0 0 5 10 15 20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Current density (mA/cm2)
Reaction time (min)
Fig. 5. Cyanide removal and anode (Fe) weight loss as a function of current densities
Fig. 3. Effect of aeration on cyanide removal in the ECP (cyanide concentration = 300 mg/ applied in the ECP (cyanide concentration = 300 mg/L; current density = 15 mA/cm2;
L; current density = 15 mA/cm2; Fe-Al electrode; reaction time = 20 min). reaction time = 30 min; Fe-Al electrode; aeration).
 G. Moussavi et al. / Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133 131

formation increased with the increased current density [22], resulting in 3.5. Characterization of the cyanide electrocoagulation sludge
enhancement of cyanide removal. In addition, the increase of current
density can also affect the rate of bubble generation and thereby result in To explain the mechanism by which cyanide was removed from
mixing of the suspension, which in turn affects the growth of precipitate wastewater in the ECP experiment in this study, we attempted to
flocs, resulting in enhanced adsorption of cyanide onto the flocs [24]. analyze the sludge generated under the selected conditions (Table 1)
This finding is in agreement with most other researchers [e.g., 15,16,23], using SEM, and FTIR techniques. Fig. 7a gives the SEM image of the ECP
who observed an increase in the performance of ECP in removing sludge of cyanide. The image illustrates that the sludge was composed
contaminants with an increase of the applied current density between of agglomerated fine powder-like particles at the micron scale. The
the electrodes. In contrast, Arslan-Alaton et al. [24] reported COD elemental analysis of the sludge with EDAX indicated (data not
removal that was independent of the applied current density between shown) that the sludge was composed mainly (98.2 wt.%) of Fe, which
stainless steel and Al electrodes. Moreover, Aouni et al. [12] reported re-affirms that the sacrificed Fe was precipitated as sludge. The sludge
that color removal was independent of the current density applied was also analyzed using FTIR at wavenumbers ranging from 400 to
between Al electrodes, but that COD removal increased with current 4000 cm −1, the spectrum of which is shown in Fig. 7b. The spectrum
density. Therefore, the influence of current density on the performance indicates a very broad and intense band with a maximum wavenum-
of ECP depends on the operational conditions, particularly the type of ber of around 3410 cm −1 corresponding to the stretching vibration of
electrodes and type of target contaminant. Accordingly, current density hydroxyl groups [7,23], which indicates that hydroxide species were
is one of the main design and operational parameters affecting the the prominent form of the generated precipitates. A sharp band is
removal of cyanide using ECP. Because the current density directly observed in the FTIR spectrum a wavenumber of around 2068 cm −1
affects energy consumption [25], thus cost of the treatment, it is critical (Fig. 7b), representing the complex of CN-Fe precipitates [26].
to determine and apply the optimum value of the current density for any Therefore, according to this information, the cyanide was removed
specific application. through complexation/interaction with the iron hydroxide precipi-
tates, which can be separated in a settling chamber.

3.4. Effect of electrical conductivity (EC) 3.6. Performance of continuous ECP in the removal of cyanide

The effect of EC ranging from 1.35 to 9.36 mS/cm was investigated in The performance of continuous ECP for treatment of a cyanide
the removal of cyanide from wastewater in the ECP under the conditions wastewater was investigated at HRTs between 15 and 140 min. The
given in Table 1. The cyanide removal efficiencies are illustrated in Fig. 6. mean cyanide removal as a function of HRT is depicted in Fig. 8, which
There was an almost linear relationship between cyanide removal and shows that there was a considerable influence of HRT on the removal
the EC of the solution in the range of 1.35 to 9.36 mS/cm. According to of cyanide in the ECP reactor. As illustrated in Fig. 8, cyanide removal
the data plotted in Fig. 6, the removal of cyanide increased linearly from
24% at an EC of 1.35 mS/cm to 86% with an increase of EC to 9.36 mS/cm.
It has been reported that an increase in EC led to improvement of dye
removal percentage [10]. The increase in cyanide removal versus the EC
of the contaminated solution can be related to the increase of the current
a
density at a constant current voltage (Fig. 6), thus the increase of Fe was
sacrificed, which corresponds to the production of a greater amount of
precipitate and thereby an increase of removal percentage. In fact, the
increase in the EC results in a reduction of the voltage required to attain a
given current density [21] and subsequently, a reduction in energy
consumption [10,21], which makes the treatment process more cost-
effective. The finding of this step of the experiment implies that the ECP
is a more feasible technique for treating contaminated saline media.

10
100

8
Current density (mA/cm2)

b
Cyanide removal (%)

80 100

6
Transmittane (%)

60
80

4
40
60

20 2
hydroxyl group

cyanide removal (%)

40
Fe-CN

current density (mA/cm2)

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Electrical conductvity (mS/cm) 20
400 1400 2400 3400

Fig. 6. Effect of electrical conductivity on cyanide removal in the ECP (cyanide Wave numbers (cm -1)
concentration = 300 mg/L; current density = 15 mA/cm2; Fe-Al electrode; reaction
time=20 min; EC=1.35 to 9.36 mS/cm). Fig. 7. Characterization of ECP sludge: (a) SEM image, (b) FTIR spectrum.
132 G. Moussavi et al. / Desalination 280 (2011) 127–133

and therefore promising technique for the treatment of cyanide-laden

100
wastewater.
Cyanide removal (%)

80
Acknowledgements

60
cyanide removal The authors express their gratitude to Tarbiat Modares University
for providing technical and financial support.
40

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