Electrocoagulation as a key technique in the integrated urban water cycle – A case study in the centre of Spain

Electrocoagulation (EC) presents operational advantages over chemical coagulation, including no requirement for the addition of chemicals. This work compares the performance of electrocoagulation in two stages of the urban water cycle: drinking water production and wastewater regeneration. A case study focussed on the treatment of actual effluents from different locations in the centre of Spain is performed. It was observed that electrocoagulation with aluminium anodes is an efficient technique to remove turbidity and total organic carbon (TOC) from surface water and to deplete turbidity and <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) from urban treated wastewater (taken from the outlet of an urban wastewater treatment facility, WWTF). Although electrocoagulation can be applied to the treatment of both effluents, the technique is more efficient in the case of the production of drinking water from surface sources. This behaviour is related to the nature of the natural organic matters (NOM) present in both effluents.