RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Design and optimization of an electrocoagulation reactor for fluoride remediation in underground water sources for human consumption A1 Souto, Ricardo Manuel A1 Betancor-Abreu, A. A1 Mena, Víctor A1 González, Sergio A1 Delgado, S. A1 Santana, Juan José K1 Underground water remediation K1 Fluoride mitigation K1 Electrocoagulation technique K1 Reactor design K1 Kinetics of the electrocoagulation reaction AB Fluoride remediation in underground waters of volcanic origin was performed at laboratory scale using an electrocoagulation (EC) technique. The natural waters from certain volcanic springs on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) contain average fluoride concentrations in excess of 7 mg/L. Thus, it is necessary to treat the water for fluoride mitigation below the maximum acceptable concentration of 1.5 mg/L according to Spanish regulations for drinking water. The design and optimization of a sustainable process was accomplished using a progressive scale-up procedure involving three pilot reactors with different configurations and effective working volumes. A bipolar electrode cell design using aluminum electrodes was used in all cases. The good performance of the process was confirmed by reducing the fluoride concentration from 7.35 to 1.4 mg/L. The following optimized operating conditions were determined for a continuous flow cell system: current density, 10 mA/cm2; residence time, 10 min; and, half-period of polarity reversal, 1 min. Furthermore, the kinetics of the remediation process can be fitted using the Variable Order Kinetic (VOK) model, with a power relationship between fluoride concentration and residence time in the EC reactor YR 2019 FD 2019 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18968 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18968 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 22-nov-2024