Simultaneous removal of acetaminophen and ibuprofen from underground water by an electrocoagulation unit: Operational parameters and kinetics

Contamination of water with persistent pharmaceutical compounds has become an increasing concern of the current world, and many studies have been working on the mitigation of such pollution. Groundwater, a crucial water source, has been contaminated with pharmaceuticals. In the current study, an electrocoagulation method has been used for the simultaneous removal of two common pharmaceuticals including ibuprofen and acetaminophen, for the first time. The process was optimized via the one-at-a-time method. It was found that by increasing the contact time, the removal efficiency of ibuprofen and acetaminophen reached 50.96% and 22.76% at electrolysis time of 110 min and pharmaceutical concentration of 40 ppm, respectively. The maximum efficiency was observed at 2 A. Electrode distance of 3 cm was superior to 5 and 6 cm. Optimum values of pH and agitation speed were seen at 5 and 200 rpm, respectively. To improve efficiency, the double electrocoagulation stage was considered, and the maximum adsorption efficiency of 78% and 48%, respectively. Produced H-2 gas is one of the other advantages of the electrocoagulation process. Therefore, electrocoagulation can be suggested as a promising technique to eliminate pharmaceuticals from underground water.