Electroflotation for Treatment of Industrial Wastewaters: A Focused Review

With the global water demand and environmental concerns, industries need more effective and efficient wastewater treatment methods. Electroflotation is a wastewater treatment process defined as the separation of suspended particles from water using gas bubbles generated during electrolysis of water. The present study intends to provide a comprehensive review of applications of electroflotation process in treatment of industrial wastewaters. It comprises the fundamentals of electroflotation, electrodes materials and arrangements, reactor design, influencing process variables and process kinetics. Subsequently, detailed results of numerous experimental studies in treatment of various industrial effluents are presented and discussed. The modern long-life electrodes along with the recent full-scale installations of electroflotation units, revealed the process advances and potentials, and promising future of electroflotation for treatment of industrial effluents. The objective of this study is to provide scientific and practical guidelines for researchers and engineers working in this field.