SYSTEM FOR REMOVING CONTAMINANTS FROM FLUIDS AND RELATED METHODS

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for treatment of wastewater from industry, particularly water contaminated with pesticides, herbicides, and other contaminants. The system improves efficiency of contaminant removal from waste waters, reducing the volume and mass of the extracted waste and increasing the yield of usable water. Particularly, the system and method of the present invention provides improved electrocoagulation systems and techniques.

Claims

1. An electrocoagulation system for removing contaminants from a flow of wastewater comprising: a) a wastewater container for receiving and storing wastewater; b) an electrocoagulation reactor in fluid communication with the wastewater container having a plurality of electrode plates positioned at a predetermined spacing and substantially parallel to each other; c) a DC voltage source in electrical communication with the plurality of electrode plates for applying a voltage therebetween; d) a rectifier in electrical communication with the DC voltage source to selectively reverse the polarity of the voltage supplied to the electrode plates at a predetermined interval; and e) a plurality of settling tanks having filter membranes for collecting coagulated materials from said wastewater.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a controller adapted to control the flow of wastewater from the wastewater source, through the electrocoagulation reactor, and into the settling tanks, and to control the rectifier and the DC voltage source to control the amount of voltage supplied to the plurality of electrode plates.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the rectifier changes the polarity of the electrode plates to allow the electrode plates to deteriorate substantially equally and to maintain electrical potential between adjacent plates, the rectifier being controlled by the controller.

4. (canceled)

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the wastewater exiting the reactor, the temperature sensor in communication with the controller, the controller adjusting the flow of wastewater and the DC voltage source to achieve a desired temperature of wastewater exiting the reactor.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a pH sensor located between the reactor and the settling tanks to measure the pH of the wastewater exiting the reactor, the pH sensor being in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is operable to adjust the flow of wastewater and the DC voltage source to achieve a desired pH of wastewater exiting the reactor.

10. (canceled)

11. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

13. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

17. The system of claim 1, wherein said wastewater comprises concentrations of organic pollutants in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt, wherein said system is operable to remove said organic pollutants to achieve a filtrate having a concentration of pesticides in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt.

18. (canceled)

19. The system of claim 17, wherein said system is operable to apply a current to said electrodes in a range of about 550 amps to about 700 amps and to pass said wastewater through said electrocoagulation reactor at a rate in a range of about 0.5 gallons/minute to about 15 gallons/minute, and thereby remove said organic pollutants to achieve a filtrate having a concentration of pesticides in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt.

20. An electrocoagulation system for removing contaminants from a flow of wastewater comprising: a) a wastewater for receiving and holding wastewater; b) an electrocoagulation reactor having a plurality of electrodes comprising an aluminum alloy, the plurality of electrodes being substantially parallel to the each other; c) a DC voltage source in electrical communication with the plurality of electrodes for applying a voltage therebetween, the voltage causing the contaminants in the wastewater to react with the electrodes to change from in-solution to in-suspension in the wastewater; d) a rectifier in electrical communication with the DC voltage source to selectively reverse the polarity of the voltage supplied to the electrode plates thus changing the polarity of the electrode plates to allow the electrode plates to deteriorate substantially equally, the rectifier being controlled by the controller; and e) a controller adapted to control the flow of wastewater from the wastewater source, through the electrocoagulation reactor, and into the settling tanks, the controller controlling the DC voltage source to control the amount of voltage supplied to the electrode plates.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the rectifier changes the polarity of the electrode plates to allow the electrode plates to deteriorate substantially equally and to maintain electrical potential between adjacent plates, the rectifier being controlled by the controller.

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

24. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

26. The system of claim 20, further comprising a temperature sensor to measure the temperature of the wastewater exiting the reactor, the temperature sensor in communication with the controller, the controller adjusting the flow of wastewater and the DC voltage source to achieve a desired temperature of wastewater exiting the reactor.

27. The system of claim 20, further comprising a pH sensor located between the reactor and the settling tanks to measure the pH of the wastewater exiting the reactor, the pH sensor being in communication with the controller, wherein the controller is operable to adjust the flow of wastewater and the DC voltage source to achieve a desired pH of wastewater exiting the reactor.

28. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

30. (canceled)

31. (canceled)

32. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

36. (canceled)

37. The system of claim 20, wherein said system is operable to apply a current to said electrodes in a range of about 550 amps to about 700 amps and to pass said wastewater through said electrocoagulation reactor at a rate in a range of about 0.5 gallons/minute to about 15 gallons/minute, and thereby remove said organic pollutants to achieve a filtrate having a concentration of pesticides in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt.

38. An electrocoagulation method for treating wastewater containing contaminants in-solution comprising: collecting the wastewater in a container; passing the wastewater from the container to an electrocoagulation reactor, the reactor having a plurality of electrode plates; applying a voltage to the electrode plates from a DC voltage source to form suspended particles in the wastewater, wherein the polarity of the voltage applied to adjacent electrode plates is opposite to create an electrical potential between the adjacent electrode plates; moving the wastewater with the suspended particles from the electrocoagulation reactor to a plurality of settling tanks; removing the suspended particles from the wastewater by flowing the wastewater through the plurality of settling tanks which causes the suspended particles to drop out of the wastewater; extracting a filtrate from the plurality of settling tanks.

39. The electrocoagulation method of claim 38, further comprising using a rectifier to selectively reverse the polarity of the DC voltage source to reverse the polarity of voltage supplied to the adjacent electrode plates to maintain the electrical potential between the adjacent electrode plates.

40. The electrocoagulation method of claim 39, wherein the polarity of the DC voltage is reversed by the rectifier at an interval in a range of about 15 seconds to about 90 seconds.

41. The electrocoagulation method of claim 39, wherein the polarity of the DC voltage is reversed by the rectifier at an interval of about one minute or less, wherein the rectifier changes the polarity of the adjacent electrode plates to allow the electrode plates to deteriorate substantially equally and to maintain electrical potential between adjacent plates, the rectifier being controlled by the controller.

42. The electrocoagulation method of claim 39, wherein an electronic controller controls a pump to direct the flow rate of wastewater from the wastewater source, through the electrocoagulation reactor, and into the settling tanks, and controls the rectifier and the DC voltage source to direct the amount and polarity of voltage supplied to the plurality of electrode plates.

43. (canceled)

44. (canceled)

45. (canceled)

46. (canceled)

47. (canceled)

48. The electrocoagulation method of claim 38, wherein a pH sensor located between the electrocoagulation reactor and the settling tanks measures the pH of the wastewater exiting the electrocoagulation reactor, the pH sensor being in communication with the controller.

49. (canceled)

50. (canceled)

51. (canceled)

52. (canceled)

53. (canceled)

54. (canceled)

55. The electrocoagulation method of claim 38, wherein said wastewater comprises concentrations of organic pollutants in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt, wherein said system is operable to remove said organic pollutants to achieve a filtrate having a concentration of pesticides in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt.

56. (canceled)

57. The electrocoagulation method of claim 42, wherein a current is applied to said electrodes in a range of about 550 amps to about 700 amps and said wastewater is passed through said electrocoagulation reactor at a rate in a range of about 0.5 gallons/minute to about 15 gallons/minute, and said organic pollutants are thereby removed to achieve a filtrate having a concentration of pesticides in a range of about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] FIG. 1 provides a perspective view of an electrocoagulation system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 2 provides a front perspective view of the electrocoagulation contact reactor, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 3 provides a cross-sectional perspective view of a electrocoagulation contact reactor, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 4 provides a side cross-sectional view of the electrocoagulation contact reactor, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 5 provides a perspective view cross-sectional view of the electrocoagulation reactor, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 6 provides a perspective view of the reusable bag system, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Reference will now be made in detail to certain embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in reference to these embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents that are included within the spirit and scope of the invention. In the following disclosure, specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without all of the specific details provided.

[0039] FIG. 1 depicts an illustration of a flow diagram of an exemplary electrocoagulation fluid system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 may include three major components, including a rectifier 115, a reaction tower 200, and settling system 107. The rectifier 115 may be operable to apply high voltage and current levels to the electrocoagulation tower 200 with polarity switching operability at pre-determined intervals that maintains electrical potential in the wastewater sufficient to chemically breakdown the contaminants at a consistent rate, thereby increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the system 100. The voltages applied by the rectifier of the presently disclosed systems and methods may be in a range of about 12 V to about 40 V. The currents applied in the present system may be about 400 amps to about 1500 amps (e.g., about 500 amps to about 900 amps).

[0040] The reaction tower 200 may comprise an electrocoagulation reactor system designed to optimize the exposure time, mixing of the fouled water passing through the electrocoagulation reactor, and the ratio of the surface area of the electrodes to the volume of the fouled water flowing through the reaction tower 200. The geometry and material of the electrode plates in the reaction tower are novel and improve the efficiency of the electrocoagulation performed by reaction tower 200. The electrodes of the reaction tower 200 include relatively large electrode surface areas relative to the volume of the contaminated fluid within the reaction tower 200. The parallel plate electrodes are disposed on the support enclosure so as to be parallel with the direction of fluid flow between the electrode plates and from a proximal end of the reaction tower 200 to a distal end of the reaction tower 200.

[0041] The electrocoagulation fluid system 100 may further include pumps to move the fluid through the major reaction tower 200 and the settling structure 107. The system may include a pump 101 operable to move fluid through a pipe 102 to the electrocoagulation reactor 200. The fluid may then flow to a pipe junction 104 and may be deposited into one of the filter bags 106a, 106b, or 106c in the settling system 107 from the orifice valves 105a, 105b, and 105c. An additional pump 109 may siphon the filtrate from the settling tanks to a collection tank 111 through a conduit 110. The system may further have a pressure release valve 211, which is connected to a control cable 212.

[0042] FIG. 2 depicts an illustration of a front view of the electrocoagulation reaction tower 200 of the system 100. The electrocoagulation reaction tower 200 may have a monitoring panel 201 for housing various gauges and control mechanism and/or a touchscreen control interface. The controls may include a flow meter gauge 202, a temperature gauge 203, a pressure gauge 204, and a pH gauge 205. The control panel may also support buttons, dials, or other electromechanical controls 206, which may serve a function which may include controlling power output from the rectifier 200, the polarity switching period of the power supplied to the electrodes, the flow rate of the contaminated fluid through the system 100 by controlling, e.g., the pumps 101 and 109, opening or closing a pressure release valve, and closing and opening the orifice valves 105a, 105b, and 105c.

[0043] Also shown in FIG. 2, a contaminated fluid conduit 102 provides the contaminated fluid from a contaminated fluid source 101 that contains about 1% wt/wt to about 50% wt/wt of pesticide, herbicide, or other contaminants. The contaminated fluid then passes through the reaction tower 200, in which the electrical potential generated by the high current in the range of about 550 amps to about 700 amps passing through electrodes within the reaction tower 200. The contaminated fluid may flow through the reaction tower 200 as the electrical potential is applied thereto at a rate of about 0.5 gallons/minute to about 15 gallons/minute. As the contaminated fluid passes through the reaction tower 200, the contaminants in the fluid are chemically changed by chemical oxidation-reduction reactions that convert organic materials to less toxic species and to species that are more amenable to coagulation with metal cations produced by the charged electrodes present in the electrocoagulation reaction vessel and the produced chemical species can then agglomerate and come out of solution by migration to oppositely charged electrodes and resulting aggregation due to charge neutralization, precipitate formation between charged pollutants and metal cations and hydroxyl ions, and coagulation to form a flocculant. The flow rate allows sufficient time for these processes to take place. The resulting separated fluid and flocculant and agglomerations are removed from reaction tower 200 through conduit 104 to be transferred to one of the settling chambers 108.

[0044] FIG. 3 depicts an illustration of a front cross-sectional view of the electrocoagulation contact reactor 200. The reaction tower 200 may have a series of electrodes 208 and 209, which are connected to a branch sub lead system 207a or 207b. The branch subleads may be bound together within the insulated control line 114. The branch sublead 207a may be connected directly to the electrodes 208. Similarly, the branch sublead 207b may be connected directly to the electrodes 209. The electrodes may be configured in an alternating pattern, where one electrode 208 is wired to be oppositely polarized to the adjacent electrode, such that one is positive when the other is negative. All of the electrodes may be configured to have an even spacing in a range of about 0.1 inches to about 2 inches (e.g., about 0.125 inch to about 0.5 inch), such that a strong electrical potential can be maintained between adjacent electrodes and there is a high surface area to volume ratio between the surface of the electrodes and the volume of the contaminated fluid. The reactor may include 10 to 20 electrodes each having a surface area in a range of about 450 in.sup.2 to about 1200 in.sup.2, and the volume of contaminated fluid in the reactor tower 200 at any given moment is in a range of about 12 gallons to about 55 gallons.

[0045] FIGS. 4-5 depict the arrangement of the electrodes in the reaction tower 200, with FIG. 4 showing a side cross-sectional view of the electrocoagulation reactor 200, and FIG. 5 showing the arrangement of the electrodes and electrical leads. The electrodes of the reactor tower 200 may be shaped and positioned to create a flow pathway through the reactor that provides spatial closeness between the electrodes to create sufficient potential therebetween, and some turbulence in the water to cause mixing and dispersion of the fouled water to encourage interactions of charged ions (e.g., metal cations, charged metal oxides, etc.) with charged organic materials to maximize complexing and coagulation of the contaminants in the fouled water. The alternating adjacent electrodes 208 and 209 may have a flat, plate structure with a height in a range of about 36 inches to about 84 inches (e.g., about 4 feet, about 5 feet, or any value or range of values therein), each with one distal end cut 210 (a docked end) that allows for a gap between the angled distal end and an interior wall of the reactor 200 to allow the fouled water to flow therebetween. The electrode plates 208 and 209 may be arranged in parallel within the reactor with predetermined spacing between the electrode plates, and the docked ends 210 of the electrode plates in a staggered arrangement such that the docked end 210 of an electrode plate 208 is horizontally flipped with respect to an adjacent electrode plate 209. This arrangement allows for the free flow of the fouled water through the reactor, while still causing turbulence and mixing at the docked ends 210 of the electrode plates 208, 209 due to a convoluted flow pathway created by the staggered docked ends 210 of the electrode plates.

[0046] The electrode plates 208, 209 may be spaced apart from each other to improve the ratio of electrode surface area to volume of the volume of fouled water passing through the reactor tower 200. The electrodes 208, 209 may be arranged substantially parallel to each other and may be spaced apart by a distance in a range of about 0.1 inches to about 2 inches (e.g., about 0.125 inch to about 0.5 inch), such that a strong electrical potential is maintained between adjacent electrodes and there is a high surface area to volume ratio between the surface of the electrodes 208, 209 and the volume of fouled water.

[0047] Voltages and currents applied to the electrodes 208, 209 according to the presently disclosed methods are higher than in conventional systems, and the electrocoagulation system 100 may utilize a novel rectifier 200 for applying high voltage and current levels to the electrodes 208, 209 with polarity switching operability at pre-determined intervals that maintains electrical potential in the wastewater sufficient to chemically breakdown the contaminants at a consistent rate, thereby increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the system 100. The voltages applied by the rectifier 115 may be in a range of about 12 V to about 40 V. The currents applied by the rectifier 115 may be about 400 amps to about 1500 amps (e.g., about 500 amps to about 900 amps). Large gauge conductive lines (e.g., rods having a diameter in a range of about ¼ in. to about % in) may be used to deliver current from a rectifier 200 to the contact points for the plate electrodes 208, 209 to improve the efficiency of the flow of electricity and facility high voltage and current delivery to the electrode plates 208, 209. The conductive lines may comprise copper, aluminum, gold, platinum, or other highly conductive metals. The conductive lines may each be connected to one more electrodes in the coagulation reaction tower 200 by branching into subleads connecting directly to the plates to deliver electricity thereto. Each of the subleads may be connected to the electrode plates by a high surface area conductive contact (e.g., a clamp) to provide a contact operable to deliver a large amount of voltage and current to the electrode plate efficiently. The connections of the conductive lines may be arranged such that the polarity of the electrodes 208 and 209 alternate between positive and negative, and thus conductive lines of opposite polarity are connected to each set of adjacent electrodes.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows the settling system 107, having a plurality of settling chambers 108 (e.g., three settling chambers). Each of the settling chambers 108 may be separate, each having a filter bag (106a, 106b, 106c) with the same pore size, and working in parallel. The parallel settling chambers 108 allow for simultaneous settling of coagulated contaminant from the reaction tower 200. The effluent fluid may be allowed to remain in the tanks 108 for an extended period to allow for the coagulated material to settle out of the fluid into the filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c for an extended period. Each of the settling chambers 108 may have a volume in a range of about 50 gallons to about 200 gallons (e.g., in a range of about 80 gallons to about 150 gallons; in a range of about 100 gallons to about 130 gallons; or any value or range of values therein). The volume of the filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c nested within the settling chambers 108 may each have a volume of about 50% to about 80% of the volume of the settling chamber 108 in which they are nested. The filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c may have a perimeter shape that is complementary shape to the interior frame of the settling chamber 108, and may be suspended at or near the top rim of the settling chamber 108 such that the vertical depth of the filter bag is less than that of the settling chamber 108. The filtrate passing through the filter bags may be collected in settling chambers 108.

[0049] The following is a discussion of the process of electrocoagulation in reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the pump 101 may be placed in fluid communication with a contaminated fluid source for intake to the system. The process is commenced once a voltage is applied to the pump 101, which may begin to pass the contaminated fluid from the fluid source through a delivery pipe 102, a volumetric flowrate may be monitored and measured using a flow meter (not shown) and a mass flowrate may be calculated from the pump characteristics in combination with the measured volumetric flowrate in a PLC of the rectifier 115. The contaminated fluid may subsequently begin to fill the control volume within the electrocoagulation reactor tower 200 for treatment.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 2-FIG. 5, the contaminated fluid may enter the coagulation reactor 200 from the pipe 102 and fill the control volumes 210 between the alternating electrode plates 208 and 209. The electrode plates may then be applied a high electrical power, e.g., 500 amps at 12V, from the branch sub leads 207a and 207b, the applied voltage subjects the contaminants in water to be in a statically held within the control volume 210. The flow of untreated water from pipe 102 may be halted when the voltage is applied. The contaminants undergo a redox reaction with the electrode plates 208 and 209, and the contaminated fluid forms into clumps of emulsion (e.g., coagulation). The polarization of the electrode plates 208 and 209 may be reversed about every 30 seconds to about 90 seconds to prevent charge accumulation and continue to apply a high electrical potential to the particulates in the fluid, and the flow may proceed to allow the treated fluid and clumps of emulsion to flow to the pipe junction 104.

[0051] The coagulated fluid effluent may then flow through the pipe junction 104 and out of the orifice valve 105a, 105b, and 105c into the settling tanks 108, where the effluent passes through the filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c, and the coagulated material settles in the filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c. The filter bags 106a, a06b, and 106c function to collect and separate the hydrophobic coagulated contaminants (e.g., sludge) from a filtrate that passes out of the filter bags into the settling tanks 108. The pump 109 may work the filtrate into a filtrate collection tank 111. The filtrate may then be drawn from the collection tank 111 through a conduit 112 to recycle use system 113 (e.g., an irrigation system). The reusable filter bags 106a, 106b, and 106c when filled may be removed from the settling structure 107 for washing.

[0052] FIG. 6 depicts an illustration of the method for removing the reusable filter bags of the system of FIG. 1. The bags 106a, 106b, and 106c have a rigid flange 116 that functions to support and secure the reusable bag within the structure 107. The reusable bag may be lifted laterally out of the structure and cleaned of all sludge (e.g., coagulated material).

[0053] Example 1: The following volumes of chemicals were diluted in 150 gallons of water as a test solution for examining the efficacy of the electrocoagulation system described herein:

TABLE-US-00001 Chemical Name Quantity Agri-Mek SC 1 quart Mustang 1 quart Dupont Coragen 28 1 quart Dupont Avaunt 1 quart Warrior II 3 1 quart Assail 70 WP 28 oz. Adamex 6 1 quart Sniper 3A 1 quart Radiant SC 1 quart Sivanto Prime 1 quart Dibrom 8 Emulsive 1 quart Acephate 97UP 16 oz. Lannate SP 21 lbs.

[0054] The solution was then passed through the electrocoagulation system as described herein with the electrical power provided by the rectifier to the electrodes in the reaction tower at 500 amps with a voltage of 12V. The solution was passed through the reaction tower at a rate of 0.5 gallons/minute. The coagulated materials were removed by passage of the water/particulate suspension through the filter bags and settling chambers. The resulting filtrate was lab tested under the federal Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and California's Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) protocols for determining the level of toxic materials in the filtrate. A table of the lab results for several tested chemicals and the federal TCLP and California TTLC standards is provided below. As shown in the table, the filtrate produced by the presently disclosed electrocoagulation system was able to reduce the relevant contaminant levels sufficiently to meet both federal and California standards.

TABLE-US-00002 Filtrate Contam- Concentration TCLP Standard TTLC Standard inants mg/L mg/L mg/L Arsenic 0.048 0.5 (500 mg/kg) 0.005 (5 mg/kg) Barium 0.15 10 (10000 mg/kg) 0.1 (100 mg/kg) Lead 2.3 1 (1000 mg/kg) 0.005 (5 mg/kg)

[0055] Example 2: The following volumes of chemicals were diluted in 15 gallons of water as a test solution for examining the efficacy of the electrocoagulation system described herein:

TABLE-US-00003 Chemical Name Quantity Action, Amvac Chemical - 59639-82-AA-5481 - 0.47 Gallon Flumiclorac-pentyl C21H23ClFNO5 ET Herbicide/Defoliant - Nichino America - 71711-7 - 0.21 Gallon pyraflufen-ethyl C15H13Cl2F3N2O4 Freeway, UAP - Loveland Industries - 34704-50031 - 0.63 Gallon Adjuvant - Dimethylpolysiloxane, Silicone-polyether copolymer, propylene glycol, ethoxylated C12-branched organic alcohols Integrate Humic Acid 2.5 Gallon PointBlank WM, Helena Chemicals - 5905-50102 - 0.02 Gallon polyacrylamide Adjuvant

[0056] The solution was then passed through the electrocoagulation system as described herein with the electrical power provided by the rectifier to the electrodes in the reaction tower at 600 amps with a voltage of 12V. The solution was passed through the reaction tower at a rate of between 3 and 6 gallons/minute. The coagulated materials were removed by passage of the water/particulate suspension through the filter bags and settling chambers. The resulting filtrate was lab tested under the federal Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) and California's Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) protocols for determining the level of toxic materials in the filtrate. A table of the lab results for several tested chemicals and the federal TCLP and California TTLC standards is provided below. As shown in the table, the filtrate produced by the presently disclosed electrocoagulation system was able to reduce the relevant contaminant levels sufficiently to meet both federal and California standards.

TABLE-US-00004 Filtrate Concentration TTLC Standard Contaminants mg/kg mg/kg Barium 11 10000 Cadmium 1.2 100 Chromium 28 2500 Copper 34 2500 Zinc 710 5000 1-Methylnaphthalene 2.47 2-Methylnaphthalene 3.37 n-Butylbenzene 38.3 Carbon disulfide 90.8

[0057] The metal contaminants all tested below the TTLC standard levels. Also, though there are not specific TTLC standards for the organic contaminants in the filtrate, the organic materials were also significantly reduced by the electrocoagulation process.

[0058] As shown in the example results, the present electrocoagulation system and methods are capable of removing organic materials, such as pesticides and herbicides, metal contaminants, and other contaminants from contaminated fluids to a much lower level than conventional techniques. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.