Algae have played an important role in water
contamination as a consequence of eutrophication which has
led to algal contamination in raw water as well as tap water in
conventional water treatment processes. In this study, an
electrocoagulation-electroflotation (ECEF) process was
adopted to remove algae from water. The effect of anode
materials as well as operating conditions for algae removal
from water, such as agitation, current density and initial pH
were investigated. Chlorella Vulgaris was used as model algae
at the population density of 108
cells/L. The results indicated
that the complete algae removal was achieved when using
aluminum as anode and graphite as cathode at current density
of 20 A/m2
, initial pH of 6-8, electrolysis time of 60 minutes and
energy consumption of 1.84 kWh/m3
. This process, thus, has
the potential to be one of the options for treatment where high
amount of algae is expected in a water resource.