Removal of polystyrene microplastics from wastewater by Ti–Al electrode electrocoagulation under pulse current: Efficiency and mechanism

作者：Bin Zheng, Haixia Wu, Min Zhang, Shaohua Lin · 发表于：Water Environment Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/wer.70057 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、Recycling and Waste Management Techniques、Graphene and Nanomaterials Applications

Abstract As microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems continues to rise, research on wastewater treatment methods designed to address microplastics has gained significant attention. To reduce the power consumption of electrocoagulation, this study presents an approach using Ti–Al electrode under pulsed current conditions to address polystyrene (PS) microplastic contamination in wastewater. After selecting the appropriate electrode materials and shapes, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into the effects of various operational parameters—such as initial solution pH, electrolyte concentration, current density, pulse frequency, and pulse duty cycle—on PS removal efficiency. Under optimal conditions (electrode spacing of 1 cm, current density of 4 A·m −2 , pulse duty cycle of 40%, pulse frequency of 500 Hz, initial solution pH of 7, and electrolyte concentration of 0.05 mol·L −1 ), the removal efficiency of PS reached 93.24%, with a power consumption of 0.00977 kWh·mg −1 . Analysis of the resulting flocs revealed that free radicals generated during the electrocoagulation process disrupted the microplastic surfaces and facilitated the formation of Ti and Al flocs, which ultimately removed the microplastics through a combination of adsorption, electro‐neutralization, and capture mechanisms. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of Ti electrode electrocoagulation for treating microplastic‐laden wastewater and provides valuable insights for advancing microplastic treat...