Electrocoagulation ("electro", meaning to apply an electrical charge to water, and "coagulation", meaning the process of changing the particle surface charge, allowing suspended matter to form an agglomeration) is an advanced and economical water treatment technology. It effectively removes suspended solids to sub-micrometre levels, breaks emulsions such as oil and grease or latex, and oxidizes and eradicates heavy metals from water without the use of filters or the addition of separation chemicals 
A wide range of wastewater treatment techniques are known, which includes biological processes for nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus removal, as well as a range of physico-chemical processes that require chemical addition. The commonly used physico-chemical treatment processes are filtration, air stripping, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, chemical oxidation, carbon adsorption, ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis, volatilization, and gas stripping.