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Electrokinetic sedimentation: a review

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DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2016.10004548

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374 Int. J. Environmental Technology and Management, Vol. 19, Nos. 5/6, 2016

Electrokinetic sedimentation: a review

Md. Monjurul Alam, Md. Zahangir Alam and

Hamzah Mohd. Salleh
Department of Biotechnology Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering,
International Islamic University Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: m_alam2002@yahoo.com
Email: zahangir@iium.edu.my
Email: hamzah@iium.edu.my

Takanori Tanaka
Department of Environmental Science,
Faculty of Engineering,
Osaka Electro-Communication University,
Neyagawa, Japan
Email: tanaka@osakac.ac.jp

Mutiu Kolade Amosa

NRF-DST Sustainable Process Engineering Department,
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering,
University of the Witwatersrand,
Richard Ward Building,
Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
Email: mutiu.amosa@wits.ac.za

Masashi Iwata
Department of Chemical Engineering,
Graduate School of Engineering,
Osaka Prefecture University,
Sakai, Japan
Email: iwata@chemeng.osakafu-u.ac.jp

Mohammed Saedi Jami*

Department of Biotechnology Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering,
International Islamic University Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: saedi@iium.edu.my
*Corresponding author

Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Electrokinetic sedimentation 375

Abstract: Electric field-assisted sedimentation, also called electrokinetic or

electroforced sedimentation, is a technology in which electrokinetic effects are
utilised to realise an improved solid-liquid separation. Electrokinetic
sedimentation practical industrial applications have been limited to the areas
such as soil mechanics, civil engineering and the ceramics industry. The aim of
this paper is to provide an outline of engineering applications for electrokinetic
sedimentation with a focus on the theoretical analysis of electrokinetic
sedimentation. In addition, various empirical research results addressing the
effects of process parameters on the electrokinetic sedimentation are reviewed.
It is hoped that this review would provide relevant information to contemporary
researchers who are active in the field of various solid-liquid separation in
general and electrokineticsedimentation in particular.

Keywords: electrokinetic; electrophoretic; electroosmotic; sedimentation; solid

particles.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Alam, M.M., Alam, M.Z.,
Salleh, H.M., Tanaka, T., Amosa, M.K., Iwata, M. and Jami, M.S. (2016)
‘Electrokinetic sedimentation: a review’, Int. J. Environmental Technology and
Management, Vol. 19, Nos. 5/6, pp.374–391.

Biographical notes: Md. Monjurul Alam is a Civil Engineer and member of

Institute of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB). He acquired his BSc in Civil
Engineering and MSc in Biotechnology Engineering from Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and International Islamic
University Malaysia (IIUM), respectively. Currently, he is working in a
government organisation of Bangladesh. His areas of expertise are water and
wastewater treatment, environmental engineering and construction project
management. He has authored and co-authored about five publications in book
chapters, journals, conferences, etc.

Md. Zahangir Alam is a Professor and Coordinator of Bioenvironmental

Engineering Research Centre (BERC), Faculty of Engineering at International
Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He received his BSc and MSc in
Chemical Engineering and earned his PhD in Biochemical Engineering. He has
20 years of teaching and research experiences in the field of chemical,
biochemical and bioenvironmental engineering especially biofuel, biocatalyst,
fermentation technology, waste management and water treatment. He has
authored and co-authored some 450 publications including international and
local refereed journals, conferences, books, book chapters, patents and project
reports. Having high quality of the journal papers, a large number of citations
are being cited every year with high h-index in various databases.

Hamzah Mohd. Salleh started his tertiary education at the Department of

Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Canada in 1982. He completed his
Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the same university in 1986, 1989
and 1994, respectively. He is currently a Professor attached to the Department
of Biotechnology Engineering, IIUM. He is a very active member of several
research groups including the Bioenvironmental Engineering Research Centre
(BERC), Bioprocess and Molecular Engineering Research Unit (BPMERU)
and the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART). His
research interests are biological and catalytic properties of enzymes including
enzyme technology, engineering, modelling and inhibitors; utilisation of
biomass and agro-residues; halal industry science.
376 M.M. Alam et al.

Takanori Tanaka is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science. He

received his PhD from the Kobe University. His research interest focuses on
solid/liquid separation process.

Mutiu Kolade Amosa is a Research Fellow in Sustainable Process Engineering

at the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He received his PhD in Environmental Process
Engineering from the International Islamic University Malaysia and won the
best academic award in the Engineering PhD category for the year 2015. He
also holds a BTech (Hons.) and MSc in Chemical Engineering. Widely
published in journals of high repute, he focuses his research on process/product
design and optimisation, less common separation technologies and applications,
micro- and nano-porous materials development, and environmental process
engineering. He is a senior member of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (AIChE). He is a professional member of the Association of
Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), Nigerian Society
of Chemical Engineers (NSChE), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers
(SPE).

Masashi Iwata is a Professor of Chemical Engineering. He received his PhD

from the Nagoya University, Japan. He is active in the field of solid/liquid
separation, especially filtration, expression, centrifugal dewatering, and
electroosmotic dewatering.

Mohammed Saedi Jami is a Chartered Chemical Engineer MIChemE (UK) and

Lecturer in the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). He received his
PhD from the Nagoya University, Japan. His areas of expertise are water and
wastewater treatment (municipal and industrial), environmental engineering,
artificial neural network modelling of environmental systems, membrane
processes, bioseparation processes, immobilisation and transport phenomena.
He has authored and co-authored over 200 publications in book chapters,
journals, conferences, etc.

1 Introduction

Solid-liquid separation is an important operation practiced widely throughout the

chemical, mineral, pulp and paper, biotechnology, food, and other industries. It involves
the removal of either a liquid or a solid from solid-liquid systems and it is an inexpensive
method. However, sedimentation under the gravitational field only is time-consuming
and inefficient in terms of liquid separation. Application of electric field to enhance the
separation of solid from a mixture is one of the techniques studied by various researchers
(Moulik et al., 1967; Shirato et al., 1979; Iwata et al., 1991; Yi and Iwata, 1995; Jami and
Iwata, 2008a, 2008b; Yoo et al., 2015). Although the positive effect of applying electric
field to enhance the separation has been known for several decades only a few industrial
applications of these phenomena have been found, mainly in water clarification, cake and
soil dehydration, and refining of natural clays. In electrokinetic sedimentation, the
separation of liquid from a solid-liquid mixture is achieved between two electrodes. Its
principal use would be in reducing water content in environmental sludge, biosolids, and
muddy water from construction work.
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 377

For the electrokinetic sedimentation process to be viable on a commercial scale, it has

to be capable of dewatering the given product to the desired water content at a sufficient
rate to reach output demands. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors that
significantly affect the rate of sedimentation and to illustrate the importance of each
settling stage in the overall sedimentation efficiency with the application of an electric
field. The subsequent sections of this article make available a brief literature summary on
both theoretical electrokinetic sedimentation and empirical research results of
electrokinetic sedimentation of various materials.

2 Theory

The overall solid-liquid separation in sedimentation typically goes through two stages.
The first stage, known as sedimentation, is physicochemical and involves the conversion
of discrete particles in a suspension into loose sediment, can be divided into free settling
and hindered settling. The second stage, known as consolidation, is more mechanical in
nature and involves densification of the sediment structure under effective stresses.
Figure 1 shows a typical surface settling curve under gravity, which includes an initial
stage of stability followed by a period of relatively rapid settling, and finally a long
period of slow settling at a decreasing rate (Kynch, 1952; McRoberts and Nixon, 1976;
Bowden, 1988; Sills, 1998).

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of settling stage

The primary mechanism attributable to electrokinetic sedimentation is electrophoresis,

the motion of electrically charged particles under the influence of a direct current (DC)
field (Kim et al., 2008; Hunter, 2013). Negatively charged particles move towards the
anode driven by the electrophoretic force. Dielectrophoresis, which induces the motion of
fine solids in non-uniform electric fields (Pohl and Pohl, 1978; Shang et al., 1994a), is the
secondary mechanism in electrokinetic sedimentation. Particles with surrounding diffuse
double layers may be considered as equivalent dipoles. In a non-uniform external electric
field, the charges in the double layer located in the half of the particle closest to the more
378 M.M. Alam et al.

intensive field will be acted upon by a stronger force. As a result, a dielectrophoretic

force is generated. Compared with the electrophoretic force, the dielectrophoretic force
declines much more quickly with the distance to the electrodes and is typically several
orders of magnitude smaller than the former. Experiments have shown that the effect of
dielectrophoresis was negligible beyond the regions of highly non-uniform electric field
in electrokinetic dewatering applications (Shang and Lo, 1997).
The role of electroosmosis in a sedimentation process should be addressed before
proceeding to the theoretical development of electrokinetic sedimentation.
Electroosmosis is the movement of water in a porous medium under an electrical
potential gradient (Figure 2). The commonly accepted Helmholtz-Smoluchowski model
of electroosmosis in porous materials is based on the assumption that water is driven by
an electrical potential gradient through the capillaries of the solid skeleton consisted of
the interlocking particles. The rate of water flow is controlled by the electric field
intensity and the electrical potential of the capillary wall, i.e., the zeta potential of the
particle surface (Mitchell and Soga, 1976; Mitchell, 1993). Electroosmosis is not
applicable in a dilute suspension in which particles move freely in water and there is no
porous grain skeleton to act as capillaries. In this case, the effect of electroosmosis is
negligible. With the increase of solid concentration during sedimentation, there is a
transient period during which a dilute suspension (solid-in-water) is gradually converted
to a porous mass (water-in-solid). During the transient period, electroosmosis becomes
increasingly significant until it replaces electrophoresis as the dominating electrokinetic
phenomenon. The relative significance of electrophoresis and electroosmosis in a
sedimentation process has not been quantitatively defined.

Figure 2 Electrokinetic phenomena occurring during electro-dewatering

Source: Tuan et al. (2012)

2.1 Sedimentation by gravitational force and electric field

Sedimentation velocity of suspensions is controlled by the collective action of
gravitational force, Brownian force, inter-particle electrical forces, van der Waals force,
and Stokesian viscous force (Russel et al., 1992). Kynch (1952) introduced the theory of
gravitational settling of incompressible solids and it was applied to soil sedimentation by
McRoberts and Nixon (1976). For laminar flow conditions, the classic laws of
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 379

sedimentation can be used to represent the settling velocity of a single, discrete,

non-flocculating particle by gravity as equation (1) (Tchobanoglous and Burton, 1991;
Tchobanoglous et al., 2003):
g ( ρs − ρw ) d 2
ug = (1)
18 μ

where ug (m/s) is the particle settling velocity due to gravity, ρs (kg/m3) the density of the
particle, ρw (kg/m3) the density of water, g (m/s2) the acceleration due to gravity, d (m)
the diameter of the particle, and μ (N.s/m2) the viscosity of water.
The sedimentation velocity of a soil suspension for hindered settling process can be
expressed as
U = β un r (2)

where U is the sedimentation velocity; β is a factor representing the statistical average of

velocities of all particles; u is the particle velocity; n is the porosity of soil suspension;
and r is the coefficient of sedimentation, determined from experiments, ranging from 4.5
to 29.2, subject to soil properties (McRoberts and Nixon, 1976). As the porosity, n is
unity in dilute solutions, and from equation (2) it can be stated that the sedimentation
velocity is constant, which is named as ‘free settling velocity’. The porosity decreases
with the increase of solid concentration in the suspension as well as sedimentation
velocity decreases, which is expressed as ‘hindered settling’.
In this case, the velocity of a single particle induced by an external DC field can be
expressed as (Russel et al., 1992):
εw ζ
uek = E (3)
μ

where uek is the particle velocity induced by electrokinetics in m/s; εw is the permittivity
of water in F/m, ζ is the zeta potential in V; μ is the viscosity of water in N.s/m2; and E is
the intensity or gradient of electric field in V/m. Equation (3) suggests that the particle
velocity is independent of the particle size for the case of thin diffuse double layers and is
proportional to the zeta potential.
If the clay suspension is dilute, the electric field is established in the water medium
and governed by the differential form of Ohm’s law: in clay-water-electrolyte systems,
the thickness of a diffuse double layer (Debye length) is in the range of 1–10 nm (Shang
et al., 1994b; Tuan et al., 2012), whereas clay particles display at least one dimension in
the colloid range, typically 0.1–1.0 μm (Güven, 1992). Therefore, the condition of a ‘thin
double layer’,
ka >> 1 (4)
applies where a is the equivalent radius of particles and 1/k is the Debye length. For the
case of clays, a can be taken as the diameter of clay particles.
If the particle suspension is dilute, the electric field is established in the water
medium and governed by the Ohm’s law:
j
E= (5)
σ
380 M.M. Alam et al.

where σ is the electric conductivity of water solution in S/m; and j is the current density
in A/m2. Substituting equation (5) into equation (3), we obtain
εw ζ
uek = j (6)
μσ

Additional settling will be induced by electrokinetics. Substituting equation (6) into

equation (2), we obtain:
⎡ ε ζj ⎤
U ek = β ek ⎢ w ⎥ n rek (7)
⎣ μσ ⎦
where Uek is the velocity of electrokinetic sedimentation; βek is a factor representing the
statistical average of all particles under electrokinetic sedimentation; and rek is the
electrokinetic sedimentation coefficient.
If the voltage gradient is maintained after the electrokinetic sedimentation has been
completed, electroosmosis will drive water toward the cathode. For open drainage
conditions, the flow through the sediment can be expressed in an empirical equation
(Mitchell and Soga, 1976; Mitchell, 1993):
j
qeo = ke E = ke (8)
σ
where qeo is the rate of flow in m/s and ke is the electroosmotic permeability in m2/(s.V).
It should be noted that electrochemical reactions are always associated with an
electrokinetic process (Acar et al., 1994; Tuan et al., 2012). Consolidation theory in soil
mechanics was developed by Terzaghi and Peck (1967), and the authors have played
important roles in various dehydration problems (Mikasa, 1965; Yagi and Yamazaki,
1960; Körmendy, 1964; Terzaghi and Peck, 1967, Shirato et al., 1970; Blake and
Colombera, 1977; Terzaghi et al., 1996). Sedimentation due to consolidation under a DC
electric field has been analysed by Terzaghi’s modified theory (Shirato et al., 1979).
The gravitational and electrokinetic forces acting on particles in sediments yield the
excess hydraulic pressure, and the gradient of this excess hydraulic pressure causes an
upward liquid flow through the porous media, resulting in compaction of the sediments
(Shirato et al., 1979), which is electroosmosis (Coelho et al., 1996). For describing the
electroosmotic flow through the capillary field, Kobayashi et al. (1979a) solved the
Naiver-Stokes equation. In this case, applied electric field strength and electric field
strength in the electric double layer caused by the contact potential difference were
considered and the result for electroosmotic flow through porous media was described in
a similar way as the derivation of the Kozeny-Carman equation (Carman, 1937). The
apparent liquid velocity q through the porous material is defined by the flow rate per unit
cross-sectional area of the material and represented by Kobayashi et al. (1979b).
ε3 ⎛ dpL ⎞
q= ⎜ ρe E − ⎟ (9)
kS02 (1 − ε ) 2 μ⎝ dx ⎠

where k is the Kozeny constant; ε and S0, respectively the porosity and specific surface of
the material; μ, the viscosity of the liquid; εe, the volumetric charge density of the liquid;
and pL, the liquid pressure. x and E in equation (9) are the spatial coordinate and the
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 381

electric field strength in the direction of material thickness, respectively. Equation (9) can
be re-written as (Jami and Iwata, 2008a):
1 ⎛ σ s iρE ∂pL ⎞
q= ⎜ − ⎟ (10)
μα ρs ⎝ ε ∂ω ⎠

where σs is the effective charge on solid surface per unit volume of solids, ω denotes the
net solid volume per unit cross-sectional area extending from the bottom of the
sedimentation column up to an arbitrary position in the material and α is the specific
hydrodynamic resistance defined by
kS02 (1 − ε )
α= (11)
ρs ε 3

Progress of electrokinetic sedimentation can be measured by average consolidation ratio

UC, which is zero at the beginning and becomes unity at infinite electrokinetic
sedimentation time. UC is calculated by the following equation (Jami and Iwata, 2008a):
H1 − H
UC =
H1 − H ∞
⎡ 32 ∞ (−1) n −1 ⎧ (2n − 1) 2 π 2 Ce ⎫⎤
= (1 − B ) ⎢1 − 3 ∑
⎢⎣ π n =1 (2n − 1)
3
× exp ⎨−
⎩ 4
θ ⎬⎥
ω02 ⎭⎥⎦
(12)

+ B [1 − exp(−ηθ ) ]

where H1, H and H∞ are the initial, instantaneous and final height of the sediment,
respectively B is the ratio of the creep deformation to the total deformation, Ce is the
modified consolidation coefficient and θ is time.

2.2 Sedimentation potential and current density

Cell model calculations for the electrophoretic mobility, electrical conductivity and
sedimentation potential in concentrated suspensions of colloidal particles with low
zetapotentials are reported (Ohshima, 2000). For the spherical particles in concentrated
dispersions, sedimentation potential (ESED) is expressed by the following equation.

φ(1 − φ) ( ρ p − ρ0 )
EESD = μg (13)
(1 + φ 2 ) K ∞
where ρp is the particle density, ρ0 is the liquid density, K is the electrolyte solution
conductivity, μ is the electrophoretic mobility, g is the gravitational acceleration, φ is the
particle volume fraction throughout the entire dispersion (Figure 3) (Kuwabara, 1959):

( b)
3
φ= a (14)

or the dilute case, where φ → 0, equation (13) becomes the following

φ ( ρ p − ρ0 )
EESD = μg (15)
K∞
382 M.M. Alam et al.

Figure 3 Spherical particles of radius a in concentrated suspensions in the cell model

Source: Kuwabara (1959)

The electrophoretic mobility μ of the particle was defined as (Ohshima, 2000):

b⎡ ⎧ 2 ⎛ r ⎞ 3 3 ⎛ r ⎞5 ⎫ ⎤
2 3
a2 ⎛r⎞ ⎛r⎞
μ=
9 ∫a
⎢1 − 3 ⎜ ⎟ + 2 ⎜ ⎟ − φ ⎨ − ⎜ ⎟ + ⎜ ⎟ ⎬⎥G (r )dr
⎢⎣ ⎝a⎠ ⎝a⎠ ⎩ 5 ⎝ a ⎠ 5 ⎝ a ⎠ ⎭⎥⎦
(16)
2a 2 ρel(0) (b)Y (b) ⎛ 1 9 φ⎞
− ⎜1 + φ − 5φ2/3 − 5 ⎟
9ηb ⎝ ⎠

where ρel(0) (b) is the excess charge on the outer cell surface.
N
e dy
G (r ) = −
ηr dr ∑z n
i =1
2 ∞
i i exp ( − zi y ) φi (17)

eψ (0)
where y = was assumed that the electrolyte be composed of N ionic mobile species
kT
of valence zi and drag coefficient λi(i = 1,2,…,N), and ni∞ be the concentration (number
density) of the ith ionic species in the electro neutral solution.
Average electric current density in the suspension
〈i〉 = K ∞ ( 〈 E 〉 − ESED ) (18)

For the sedimentation current iSED, applied electric field will be zero, thus the
sedimentation current was written as:
iSED = 〈i〉 〈 E 〉 = 0 = − K ∞ ESED (19)

2.3 Electrochemical interactions

The pH changes begin to occur from the region close to the electrodes as a result of
electrolytic reactions at the surface of electrodes: the acidity from the anode and the
alkalinity from the cathode. Thus, the resultant ion migrations develop a region of high
resistance due to the neutralisation, resulting in the variation of electric current and local
voltage gradient. It appears that the relatively higher mobility of the acid front may be
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 383

due to the electroosmotic water flow from the anode towards the cathode reinforcing the
migration of the H+ ions but retarding OH− ions (Hamed et al., 1991; Li et al., 1998;
Reddy and Chinthamreddy, 1999). The application of an electric field to suspensions
induces electrochemical reactions, including changes of water pH due to the hydrolysis of
water, which in turn promotes corrosion at metallic anodes and generation of oxygen and
hydrogen gases (Tuan et al., 2012). The effect should be carefully investigated due to
possible release of contaminants to water with pH changes (Buckland et al., 2000). The
electrical potential difference rose in the cathode region due to the reactions of acid/base
fronts within the first few hours, which remained rather constant throughout the rest of
the test depending on the variation of pH (Acar and Alshawabkeh, 1996; Lee, 2007).

3 Factors affecting electrokinetic sedimentation

The most important factors affecting the rate and mode of settling of particles in aqueous
solutions are:

1 the nature of particles: size distribution, shape, specific gravity, mineralogical, and
chemical properties, etc.

2 solid concentration

3 physical and chemical effects such as flocculation, heating, and cooling

4 geometric properties of settlement area (size, shape, etc.) (Svarovsky, 2000).

The sedimentation velocity of overall solid particles is governed by the action of

gravitational force, Brownian force, interparticle electrical forces, van der Waals force
and Stokesian viscous force (Russel et al., 1992). However, the effects of various
parameters on electrokinetic sedimentation of particle suspension have been discussed by
various researchers, as summarised in the following sub-sections.

3.1 Particle size

The movement of a particle in water by electrokinetics can be quantified by equation (3).

Unlike the particle settling velocity due to gravity [ug, equation (1)], the particle
velocity induced by electrokinetics (uek) is independent of the grain size, according to the
equation (3). It should be noted that electrokinetics induced settling becomes negligible
in larger non-clay particles because the negative charge on particle surfaces is small so
that the zeta potential (ζ) is negligible (Ohshima and Furusawa, 1998; Lyklema, 2005),
and the grain size is large, so that gravitational settling is predominant. Mohamedelhassan
and Shang (2001) reported that electrokinetics significantly increased the particle settling
velocity for the particles sized below 5 μm in the suspension. From another experimental
study, highest sedimentation velocity was observed for phosphatic clay which contained
more fine particles than the other two samples (Buckland et al., 2000). In the case of
non-aqueous solution, a similar phenomenon was observed.
384 M.M. Alam et al.

3.2 Particle properties

Most of particles in contact with an aqueous solution have a surface charge. The surface
of particles has chemical groups that can ionise in water and leave a residual negative or
positive charge on the surface (Gregory, 2006). Several authors (Gibbs, 1983; Loder and
Liss, 1985, Beckett and Le, 1990; Mosley et al., 2003) have shown that the charge of
natural particles in surface waters is negative due to the natural organic coatings on
particles. Upon the application of an external electric field, the electrokinetic forces are
imposed on the suspended solids carrying electric charges. These forces can be purposely
directed downward to accelerate sedimentation. However, it is of interest to observe that
the sedimentation velocity is dependent on the sediment property. For instance, the
electrokinetic sedimentation velocity of phosphatic clay suspensions was highest among
phosphatic clay, grey and brown clay suspensions under a constant current density
because of highest clay content (Shang, 1997). In the case of gravitational sedimentation
demonstrated a similar trend was observed (McRoberts and Nixon, 1976). Jami and Iwata
(2008b) reported that the effectiveness of electroforced sedimentation of zinc oxide
suspension decreased due to the increase of the percentage of KC-flock in the mixture,
this is due to the fact that KC-flock particles have very little charge. On the other hand,
kaolin has better consolidation rate than zinc oxide and this could be attributed to the fact
that kaolin generally possesses a net negative charge higher than zinc oxide at the neutral
pH (Jami et al., 2013).

3.3 Initial solid concentration

The effect of the initial solid concentration on the gravitational sedimentation velocity of
a suspension is well documented (McRoberts and Nixon, 1976; Svarovsky, 2000). A
systematic study on the effect of electrokinetic sedimentation, however, has not been
reported in the literature. During a gravitational settling process, the final void ratio of the
sediment is related to the initial solid concentration and soil properties (McRoberts and
Nixon, 1976; Been and Sills, 1981; Abu-Hejleh et al., 1996; Jami and Iwata, 2008a,
2008b). The final void ratio of sediment after electrokinetic sedimentation is related to
the initial void ratio (Shang, 1997; Jami and Iwata, 2008a). Therefore, the efficiency of
electrokinetic treatment can be improved by allowing adequate period for the
gravitational sedimentation before applying electric field. It is also observed that the
higher the initial moisture content, the larger the amount of settlement: 50%, 76%, and
88% of settlement under the initial moisture content of 600%, 1,500%, and 3,000%,
respectively (Kim et al., 2008). The electrically induced compression was also larger than
that under gravity in the case of input moisture content being 1,500% because the
electrophoretic particle movement came into effect after the free settling stage as noted in
the previous case. The application of a DC electric field to the well and river sediment
suspensions significantly increased the final solid concentration at all initial solid
concentrations tested where the maximum increase of the final solid concentration was
33%, obtained at an initial solid concentration of 14.4% wt./wt. (Reddy and
Chinthamreddy, 1999). In addition, the coefficient of free settling [equation (2)] is a
function of the initial solid concentration of the suspension and it is no longer affected by
electrokinetics when the initial solid concentration of the clay suspension is higher than a
critical value (Mohamedelhassan and Shang, 2001). Beside this, electrokinetics induces a
decrease in the coefficient of hindered sedimentation [equation (2)], leading to faster
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 385

sedimentation velocity and shorter sedimentation time and the coefficient of

sedimentation is also a function of the initial solid concentration (Mohamedelhassan and
Shang, 2001).

3.4 Current density

The efficiency of sedimentation increases with the applied current density in
electrokinetic sedimentation process (Shang, 1997; Jami and Iwata, 2008a, 2008b), while
a threshold current density is required to stimulate observable sedimentation of clay
particles (Shang, 1997). The phenomenon can be interpreted from the equilibrium of the
electrophoretic and interparticle forces (Russel et al., 1992; Hunter, 2013). A minimum
electrophoretic force is required to overcome the interparticle forces and to induce the
particle movement. The threshold current density corresponds to the minimum
electrophoretic force required for a specific clay suspension. On the other hand, if the
current density is excessive, the electrochemical reactions, such as decomposition of
anode, extreme pH, and generation of oxygen and hydrogen gases, will become
predominant, leading to increased power consumption and decreased effectiveness
(Shang et al., 1996). Krcmar et al. (2016) studied the influence of different types of
electric field operation modes on nickel migration in sediment layers. They found that a
horizontal electric field permits hydraulic gradient, concentration gradient, and
gravitation, which allows Ni migration into deeper sediment layers.

3.5 Current intermittence

The process involves periodically turning the power supply on and off at fixed intervals.
The possible advantages of using current intermittence include reducing the power
consumption and enhancing the effectiveness. The effects of current intermittence on
electrokinetic processes in sedimentation by different researchers are contradictory.
Mohamedelhassan and Shang (1998) found enhanced results from the use of intermittent
current on consolidated marine sediment, whereas Lockhart and Hart (1988) attributed
the enhanced results from intermittent current tests to inefficient water-collection
systems. Rabie et al. (1994) found that the intermittent process was only effective using
the short circuit configuration during the power-off time for dilute clay suspensions. A
possible explanation for the conflicting results could be attributed to the type and
structure of solid-water systems. However, Buckland et al. (2000) reported that the
constant current yielded better results than intermittent current in the electrokinetic
sedimentation of well and river sediment suspensions.

3.6 Electric field strength

Electrokinetic sedimentation at different voltages has been presented in many studies
(Shirato et al., 1979; Lockhart, 1983; Mohamedelhassan and Shang, 1998; Buckland
et al., 2000; Mohamedelhassan and Shang, 2001; Jami and Iwata, 2008b; Kim et al.,
2008). An increase in voltage leads to higher electrical field application, resulting in
faster settling rate, more solid concentration, and lower value of the coefficient of
sedimentation. However, higher voltage application consumes more energy. Increase in
the electric field intensity also causes greater change in pH of the water (Buckland et al.,
2000). Kim et al. (2008) reported that the settling rate under gravity and electrokinetic
386 M.M. Alam et al.

settling rate were almost the same for the first few hours, and thereafter the electrically
induced settling rate became significantly faster compared to that under gravity. It seems
that the effects of electrophoretic are insufficient during the free settling stage, and the
electrophoretic particle movement becomes effective from the hindered settling stage
where the particles get closer. Remarkable enhancement in settling velocities with the
increase of electric field strength may suggest possible industrial application of
electroforced sedimentation (Shirato et al., 1979). In another study the suitability of
electrokinetic remediation for removing heavy metals from dredged marine sediments
with high acid buffering capacity was investigated (Masi et al., 2016). The experimental
study revealed that the electrokinetic remediation was affected both by the intensity of
the applied electric field and the type of conditioning agent used at the electrode
compartments.

3.7 Electrolyte solution

In general, the contraction of electrical double layer can be induced by different kinds of
electrolytes in dilute suspension, which results in the formation of flocs, and hence the
settling velocity becomes faster (Kim et al., 2008). In wastewater treatment, coagulants
are frequently used to accelerate sedimentation of dilute solid suspensions. The most
common coagulants used are aluminium and iron salts. Based on this, three different
coagulants were tested, namely aluminium sulphate, iron sulphate and iron chloride, and
from the results of the jar test analysis iron chloride gave the best results at a dosage of
40 mg/L (Reddy and Chinthamreddy, 1999). Lockhart and Hart (1988) investigated the
effects of salts, acids and non-ionic coagulants on electrokinetic dewatering of clay slime
and coal tailings. It was found that the addition of NaCl and HCl up to 10–2 M allowed
dewatering to occur at lower voltages or increased dewatering at the equivalent voltages
as compared with suspensions without salts. On the other hand, the electroosmotic
coefficient, the factor of proportionality between the volumetric flow rate and applied
electric field strength, has been found to be independent of salt conditioning of sludge
(Droste, 1997). However, further study on the effects of the combined application of
coagulants and electrokinetics on sedimentation is still needed.

3.8 Polyelectrolyte solution

Normally, the addition of polyelectrolytes improves mechanical separations, such as
sedimentation, gravitational dewatering, filtration and expression. On the other hand, it is
found that anionic polymers increase the rate of electroosmotic flow of water in kaolinite
suspension (Laursen and Jensen, 1993) and cationic polymer enhances the efficiency of
electroforced sedimentation of zinc oxide aqueous solution (Dussour et al., 2000; Jami
et al., 2013; Alam et al., 2014). The addition of polyelectrolyte provides an opposite
excess charge in the liquid phase to balance the surface charge of the particle, which
improves the efficiency of the applied voltage gradient responsible for the electroosmotic
flow (Smollen and Kafaar, 1994). Thus, the voltage difference decreases with the
increase of polyacrylamide dose under the constant current density in electroforced
sedimentation process of zinc oxide suspension which results in less power consumption
because power consumption is directly proportional to the voltage gradient (Alam et al.,
2014). The effect of polyelectrolyte conditioning on the pressure-driven filtration of
activated sludge, followed by consolidation combined with electroosmotic dewatering
 Electrokinetic sedimentation 387

indicated that polyelectrolyte characteristics and dose had major effect only on
pressure-driven filtration of the sludge but did not have any significant effect on the
electroosmotic transport of water (Saveyn et al., 2005).

4 Future trends

Electrokinetic sedimentation method is easy to operate, whereas its reaction mechanisms

are very complex, involving knowledge of particle migration dynamics, physics, particle
chemistry, aquatic chemistry, colloid chemistry, surface chemistry, environmental
chemistry, electrochemistry and so on. The research direction will mainly concentrate on
the following aspects:
1 strengthening researches on the sedimentation of complex particles
2 studying the molecular transfer mechanisms of particles
3 developing new types of chemicals which can enhance sedimentation of particles
4 investigating the impact of chemical reaction on electrokinetic sedimentation
process.
With the combinations of multidiscipline and the development of cross-discipline,
electrokinetic sedimentation technique will continuously be developed and improved, and
make important contributions to the area of solid-liquid separation.

5 Conclusions

This work presented a brief review of both theoretical and experimental studies on
electrokinetic sedimentation. The mechanism of electrokinetic sedimentation is
essentially a kind of particle movements in a suspension induced by the application of
electric field; that is, a solid compressive pressure increases in the material, resulting in a
decrease in the void volume of the material. This review shows that, compared to
gravitational sedimentation techniques, electrokinetic sedimentation can provide
satisfactory results provided that it is preceded by gravitational sedimentation.
Electrokinetic sedimentation offers some possibilities not available to conventional
sedimentation processes which have been reviewed in detail in this paper. Moreover,
electrokinetic sedimentation may potentially be used for reduction of the heavy metal
concentration and demineralisation and migration of ions and organic matters present in
various solid-liquid systems. However, much more investigation is required to collect the
data from various solid-liquid systems, so that they can be used in proper assessment and
reasonable improvement of electrokinetic sedimentation process as well as devices.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Ministry of Higher
Education, Malaysia (Grant no. FRGS-13-029-0270) and we gratefully acknowledge the
support.
388 M.M. Alam et al.

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