ABSTRACT
Industrial development and a population explosion have increased the demand for freshwater. Limited availability and high demand for freshwater have shifted the focus of environmental research toward the treatment and reuse of wastewater. In the world of wastewater treatment, electrocoagulation (EC) has emerged to be an alternative decentralized wastewater treatment technique for the removal of dyes, colors, heavy metals, antibiotics, and organic compounds from the wastewater. During the EC process, the sacrificial anode plays a significant role in the treatment process. In an EC mechanism, the DC is applied, and changes on the surface of targeted pollutants are neutralized by ion contact with the oppositely charged deposition of electrodes. Various anode materials are available and have been successfully installed in an EC process. Iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) are the most common anode materials that are widely used in an EC process due to their high affinity for metal species to adsorb cationic particles (pollutants), which results in charge neutralization. Other than Fe and Al, magnesium (Mg), stainless steel (SS), titanium (Ti), and copper (Cu) anode materials have been successfully installed in an EC process. So, this chapter focuses on how different anode materials can be used in EC units for water and wastewater treatment (WWT).
