Performance of Electrofenton Process to Remove Cyanide from Aquatic Environments in Presence of Interfering Humic Acids

Cyanide is a very hazardous compound that enters into the environment by different industries. In this study performance of Electrofenton process (EFP) for elimination of cyanide from aquatic environment in presence of humic Acid as an interfering compound was evaluated. In this experimental study، at every step of experiment، 1000 mL of cyanide solution with known concentrations was added to a reactor. The effects of selected parameters such as pH (3-10)، reaction time (5-20 min) cyanide concentrations (100–1000 mg/l)، voltage (10-30V)، hydrogen peroxide concentrations (5-50 ml/lit)، and humic acid levels (25-100 mg/L) on cyanide removal were investigated. The results showed that efficiency of EFT process decreased with increasing pH، concentrations of cyanide and humic acid and increased with increasing voltage and hydrogen peroxide levels. The efficiency of 72% was achieved for EFP process in optimum conditions of pH = 3، initial concentration of cyanide = 100 mg/lit، hydrogen peroxide level = 25 ml/lit، voltage = 30V، and humic acid concentration = 25 mg/lit. In the same conditions، however، EFP efficiency was 96% in the absence of humic acid The overall results show that this process has high ability on removal of cyanide. This process was influenced by the parameters studied and the removal efficiency was varied with variation of each parameter.