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Production of recycled open-cell aluminium foams and their application in electrocoagulation-based wastewater treatment
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As industries seek to reduce waste and improve resource efficiency, the development of sustainable materials and circular manufacturing routes has become increasingly important. This dissertation investigates the feasibility of producing open-cell aluminium foams from recycled machining chips and assesses their potential use as sacrificial anodes in electrocoagulation (EC) wastewater treatment. Initially, eight foams were fabricated using four aluminium alloys and two space-holder salts. However, only six of these specimens demonstrated adequate structural integrity for mechanical characterisation. Mechanical testing revealed that the replication method had successfully produced interconnected porous structures with densities ranging from 0.89 to 1.29 g/cm³. The foams exhibited progressive densification without a distinct plateau region, due to variations in pore geometry and strut thickness. Calculating energy absorption values between 5% and 60% strain revealed a strong dependency on alloy strength and pore morphology. The highest performance was observed in the Al7075–Himalayan salt foam (28.34 kJ/m³). Electrocoagulation experiments were conducted using foams produced from Al360 and Al380, as well as two different types of salt. All samples exhibited stable electrochemical activity, achieving significant reductions in chemical oxygen demand (COD), with initial values ranging from 1670 to 2040 mg O₂/L and final values ranging from 102 to 333 mg O₂/L. The Al380 foam produced with table salt had the highest COD removal efficiency (93%) and the lowest specific energy consumption (1.51 ± 0.14 kWh/m³). Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that recycled-chip aluminium foams can serve as mechanically robust and effective EC electrodes, offering a promising way to transform industrial waste into functional materials for use in sustainable wastewater treatment applications.
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Aluminium foams Recycling Machining chips Space-holder method Mechanical characterisation Energy absorption Electrocoagulation Wastewater treatment Chemical oxygen demand Sacrificial anodes