Electrocoagulation for Wastewater Treatment: A Versatile and Sustainable Approach—a Comprehensive Review

Electrocoagulation has turned out to be a versatile and sustainable remediation for wastewater alterations, with many advantages over established treatment techniques. This is an electrochemical process that complexes the principles of coagulation, flotation and precipitation to completely remove a variety of pollutants from various types of wastewaters. An electric current is applied to sacrificial iron or aluminum electrodes, whereby electrocoagulation causes the production of coagulants in situ, causing destabilization and aggregation of the inorganic and organic materials from the water. This method has been found to be promising in treating industrial effluent, municipal wastewater, and even emergent contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products. It is energy-efficient and requires only limited and less toxic chemicals and leads to deficient sludge generation, thereby making it an eco-friendly substitute to the conventional chemical coagulation methods. Besides, electro-coagulated systems are compact, easily automated and easily fit different scales of operation-right from small decentralized units to large treatment plants. Given the ever-escalating concern worldwide over water scarcity and pollution, electrocoagulation is one of the promising technologies for strengthened water management and environmental conservation.