Experimental Investigation of Microplastic Removal from Drinking Water Using Aluminium Electrocoagulation: Process Performance and Operating Parameters

Abstract

Microplastic contamination in drinking water has emerged as a growing environmental concern due to its persistence and potential health risks. In this study, an aluminium-based electrocoagulation process was experimentally evaluated for the removal of microplastic particles from real drinking water samples. A bench-scale reactor equipped with parallel aluminium electrodes was used to investigate the influence of key operating parameters, including pH, current density, electrolyte concentration, and treatment time. The results demonstrated that removal efficiency strongly depended on electrochemical conditions, with optimal performance observed at near-neutral pH and moderate current density. Rapid removal was achieved during the initial treatment stage, followed by stabilisation as the system approached an equilibrium. The removal mechanism was governed by the formation of aluminium hydroxide flocs, enabling particle aggregation through adsorption, sweep flocculation and flotation processes. Under optimised conditions, removal efficiencies of approximately 80% were obtained. The findings indicate that electrocoagulation can serve as an effective supplementary treatment for reducing microplastic contamination in drinking water. However, the results should be interpreted considering the use of real water samples and the limitations of gravimetric estimation, highlighting the need for further validation using controlled synthetic systems.