Copper removal kinetic from electroplating industry wastewater using pulsed electrodeposition technique

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Electrochemistry
• Wastewater Treatment

Background:

• Jewelry industry wastewater contains significant copper concentrations.
• Effective copper removal is crucial for environmental protection and regulatory compliance.
• Electrochemical techniques offer a promising avenue for heavy metal remediation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To kinetically determine copper removal efficiency from jewelry industry wastewater.
• To investigate the influence of temperature on the electrochemical copper removal process.
• To model the copper removal kinetics using established rate equations.

Main Methods:

• Fast galvanic pulse electrochemical technique was employed for copper removal.
• Experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from 20°C to 40°C.
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) were used for material analysis.

Main Results:

• Achieved 82.49% copper removal at 37°C within 115 minutes.
• The pseudo-first-order irreversible rate equation (R²=0.99) accurately modeled the process.
• Arrhenius' equation confirmed that increased temperature favors reaction kinetics.
• SEM, EDX, and XPS analysis indicated copper oxide I formation.

Conclusions:

• The fast galvanic pulse electrochemical technique is effective for copper removal from jewelry wastewater.
• The pseudo-first-order kinetic model and Arrhenius' equation provide a robust framework for understanding the process.
• Optimizing temperature is key to enhancing the efficiency of electrochemical copper remediation.