Electrolytic removal of nitrate and potassium from wheat leachate using a four compartment electrolytic cell Original Research Article

The removal of nitrate and potassium from wheat leachate solution was studied using an electrolytic cell in batch recirculation mode. High nitrate and potassium removals were obtained at 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 V. Anions removals over 90% were obtained after 200 min of operation at these constant applied voltages. A maximum nitrate and potassium removal of 100% and 99.82%, respectively, was obtained at 9 V. During the electrolytic cell operation, the removal of monovalent anions was found to be higher than divalent and trivalent ones. This is different from the selectivity of monovalent and divalent cations found when cation-exchange membrane is used where the removal of monovalent and divalent cations is very similar.