DEFLUORIDATION OF SEPTENTRIONAL SAHARA WATER OF NORTH AFRICA BY ELECTROCOAGULATION PROCESS USING BIPOLAR ALUMINIUM ELECTRODES

Abstract

AbstractÐThe purpose of this paper is to suggest an e cient de¯uorination process which does not require a big investment. For this, the electrocoagulation process with aluminium bipolar electrodes was used. In the ®rst step, the in¯uence of parameters such as inter-electrode distance, ¯uoride concen- tration, temperature and the pH of the solution, were investigated and optimized with synthetic water in batch mode. In the second step, the optimization process was continued with Oued Souf water (south Algeria) where the in¯uence of the current density and the area/volume ratio on the de¯uorina- tion process was evaluated. The electrocoagulation process with aluminium bipolar electrodes permitted the de¯uorination of Sahara water without adding soluble salts to the treated water. The aluminium± ¯uoride weight ratio attained 17/1. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.