Abstract
The performance of electrocoagulation (EC) process, a non-specific electrochemical technology, was investigated for the
removal of carbamazepine (CBZ), an antiepileptic drug, from water. Experiments were carried out in synthetic wastewater in a
batch cell. The respective influences of some key process parameters were studied, such as mixing conditions, initial pH, and
current on aluminium electrodes. Experimental results showed that a CBZ removal efficiency of 62% was observed under
slightly acidic initial conditions (pH 4) with a current density as high as 44 mA cm-2 (I=4.5 A) using Al electrode. This clearly
indicates that CBZ removal proceeds through an electrochemical mechanism, while the adsorption of CBZ onto the aluminum
hydroxide flocs was shown to be negligible. Furthermore, the increase of initial pH to alkaline values was shown to decrease the
drug elimination efficiency. Conversely, as expected, an increase of current intensity improved the removal of CBZ. As a result,
low initial pH 4 coupled with high current elevates the electrochemical elimination of CBZ: in this case, one metabolite could
also be detected.