In the present study, the electrocoagulation (EC) performance of a Mg-Mg system was applied for the industrial wastewater treatment, from an industrial park that covers different activities such as: food, automotive, pharmaceutical, chemistry and cosmetics, after primary clarification. The effects of major operating parameters such as pH, reaction time, and current density were investigated for chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and turbidity removal efficiency. The batch system was found convenient, achieving 63.52% COD, 96% color, and 99.32% turbidity removal at optimized operating conditions of pH 7.12, reaction time of 75 min, and current density of 201.5 A/m². On the other hand, for continuous EC, the process removed approximately 46.58%, 95.96%, and 87.19% of the COD, color, and turbidity respectively, at 90 min of retention time, current density 440 A/m², and a rate of 20 mL/min. Additionally, concerning nutrient removal (N and P), the EC system with Mg electrodes was highly efficient; batch treatment removed 97% of total phosphorus and 67% of ammoniacal nitrogen, whereas the continuous treatment removed 98.5% of total phosphorus and 83% of ammoniacal nitrogen. The sludge characterization before and after EC treatment was made by SEM, EDS, Fluorescence spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy. Minerals such as chlorite, crossite, richterite, pyroaurite, langbeinite as weel as aliphatic and polysubstituted aromatics compounds, sulfates and phosphates inorganic ions, and organic phosphorus were reduced. The energy cost in the batch EC is US$0.05/m³. A numerical CFD model was used to estimate the velocity fields and guarantee the presence of turbulent kinetic energy within a continuous flow reactor.

The adsorption of fluoride and arsenic ions by modified natural materials may have an impact on the removal of F⁻ and As(V) from waters. In this work, a zeolitic material and pozzolan (commonly known as pumicite) were modified with aluminium an iron by an electrochemical method and chemical precipitation, respectively. The adsorbents were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy X-ray disperse spectroscopy analysis and the point of zero charge (pH_zpc). F⁻ and As(V) adsorption properties of both materials were investigated. Adsorption kinetic data were best fitted to pseudo-second-order model and equilibrium data to the Langmuir isotherm model. The highest F⁻ and As(V) sorption capacities were obtained for modified zeolitic (0.866 mg/g) and pozzolan (3.35 mg/g) materials, respectively, with initial F⁻ or As(V) concentrations of 10 mg/L. It was found that the unmodified materials did not show either adsorption of F⁻ ions or As(V), which indicated that Al and Fe in the adsorbents are responsible for the adsorption of these ions. In general, both modified materials show similar capacities for the adsorption of F⁻ and As(V).

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an anticonvulsant pharmaceutical that is resistant to photodegradation and biodegradation in conventional wastewater treatment plants. In this research, the degradation of commercial CBZ was studied using a boron-doped diamond-Fe system in continuous flow. A response surface model was created to determine the contributions of the current intensity (0.39, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, and 1.10 A) or current density (1.69, 2.16, 3.25, 4.33, and 4.76 mA/cm², respectively), support electrolyte (NaCl and CaCl₂), and initial CBZ concentration ([CBZ]₀) (0.1, 1.0, 5.5, 10.0, and 11.8 mg/L). The highest CBZ removal (%) was achieved with NaCl as a support electrolyte at a current intensity of 0.64 A (2.77 mA/cm²) and [CBZ]₀ of 4.5 mg/L at a neutral pH (6–7) and a treatment time of 120 min. The electro-oxidation (EO) process achieved a removal efficiency of 77.25%, whereas solar EO removed 90.77% of CBZ in the presence of ultraviolet radiation (536.37 W/m²). CBZ degradation was fitted to the Behnajady–Modirshahla–Ghanbery kinetic model with constant values of 1/m = 0.31 and 1/b = 0.93, thereby indicating the fast decomposition of CBZ. The toxicity was significantly reduced in the effluent. Graphical abstract