Ample research has demonstrated that electrocoagulation is a versatile technology capable of facilitating the removal of a wide range of physical, biological, organic, and inorganic constituents such as suspended solids, turbidity, bacteria, viruses, oil and grease, organic carbon (including chemical and biological oxygen demand), silica, fluoride, and so on. Despite its purported advantages and extensive lab-scale evaluations, it has not yet been widely adopted for water and wastewater treatment and reuse at commercial scale. This is symptomatic of a chasm between its technological capabilities on one hand and field performance and reputation on the other. Herein, we opine as to why this might be the case using our collective experiences with the oil and gas industry as an exemplar. We highlight scientific, technological, engineering, and business issues that need to be addressed to realize the full potential of this promising technology.
BT - Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering DA - 12/2023 DO - 10.1016/j.coche.2023.100952 N2 -Ample research has demonstrated that electrocoagulation is a versatile technology capable of facilitating the removal of a wide range of physical, biological, organic, and inorganic constituents such as suspended solids, turbidity, bacteria, viruses, oil and grease, organic carbon (including chemical and biological oxygen demand), silica, fluoride, and so on. Despite its purported advantages and extensive lab-scale evaluations, it has not yet been widely adopted for water and wastewater treatment and reuse at commercial scale. This is symptomatic of a chasm between its technological capabilities on one hand and field performance and reputation on the other. Herein, we opine as to why this might be the case using our collective experiences with the oil and gas industry as an exemplar. We highlight scientific, technological, engineering, and business issues that need to be addressed to realize the full potential of this promising technology.
PB - Elsevier BV PY - 2023 EP - 100952 T2 - Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering TI - Electrocoagulation of high-salinity produced water: lessons learned from its early applications in unconventional reservoir plays UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2023.100952 VL - 42 SN - 2211-3398 ER -