Enhanced electrocoagulation efficiency of lyophobic colloids in the presence of ammonium electrolytes

The electrocoagulation efficiency of latex and milk samples, with the use of aluminum electrodes, in the presence of sodium and ammonium electrolytes at 0.02 M has been investigated. The comparative results have highlighted the clear advantage of ammonium salts to obtain better and faster phase separation within the same experimental conditions. The origin of this behavior has been ascribed to the buffer effect of the ammonium/ammonia couple and the expected role of dissolved ammonia gas on the cohesiveness of generated aggregates.