Abstract :
Afnan Azzahra Ahmad Kamal1,a, Uma Dhevigai A/P Sivasubramaniam1,b, Siti Maryam Salamah Ab Rhaman1,c and Teo Pao Ter1,d,*
1Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
aj23e012f@siswa.umk.edu.my, bj21a0973@siswa.umk.edu.my, cmaryam.abrhaman@gmail.com, dteopaoter@umk.edu.my
Abstract. Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are seventeen metallic elements such as cerium, lutetium, scandium, and lanthanum. REEs are necessary for over 200 products in a variety of applications such as televisions, lasers, radar, and cell phones. However, the impact of REE extraction can have significant environmental consequences due to the increase in the production of REE wastewater. One of the potential pollutants in REE wastewater is ammonium-nitrogen (AN). Thus, more research is needed to investigate how to remove AN from wastewater. An alternative approach is chosen to treat AN, which is the electrocoagulation (EC) method. EC is an innovative and efficient treatment method that uses the electric current to remove impurities from water. The effectiveness of EC depends on parameter such as electrode materials and duration treatment. Hence, in this study, two experimental studies were chosen which are electrode (Aluminium and Iron) and treatment duration (10 min, 30 min, and 50 min). A factorial statistical design approach is used to study the effects of parameters on treatment efficiency and to understand the interaction between variables. Results show that the aluminum electrode achieves its highest efficiency at 99.878%, while the iron electrode’s efficiency is at 98.870%. Moreover, data shows that the combination of electrode material and treatment duration did significantly influence the treatment efficiency of AN with a P-value < 0.05. The experimental result indicates that the use of EC in treating AN is efficient with treatment efficiency greater than 95%.
Keywords: Electrocoagulation, Ammonium-nitrogen, REE wastewater, Aluminium, Iron, Full factorial design, Duration |