PERFORMANCE OF CONTINUOUS ELECTROFLOTATIO N OF O W EMULSION USING PACKED-BED TYPE SACRIFICIAL ELECTRODE AS AN ANODE/

The performance of continuous electroflotation of an O/W emulsion was examined in apparatus equipped with a flotation cell which was compris ed of sacrificial electrodes using aluminum (Al) pellets as an anode. As a result, a first-order kinetic rate model was applied to represent the flotation process. The flow pattern in the cell was approximated by two tanks-in-series model. The equation of the percentage oil remov al was a function of the rate constant and the residence time in the c ell, and it correlated the data very well. The rate constant was propo rtional to the dissolution rate of Al per unit time, regardless of pel let type and operating conditions. A linear relationship was obtained between the dissolution rate per unit time and unit surface area of pe llets and the electrical current density per unit cross sectional area of packed bed orthogonal to the direction of the electric current. Th e method was effective for the treatment of emulsion containing variou s surfactants.