Investigation on operating parameters and cost using an electrocoagulation process for wastewater treatment

Abstract

Wastewater generated from different sources affects the health of living organisms and the natural environment due to the availability of different pollutants. Electrocoagulation (EC) is a good technology implemented for wastewater treatment before discharging to an environment as effluents. The electrocoagulation process is an effective method to the remove the color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, and consumption of less energy from wastewater by considering different operating parameters. In this study, the major operating parameters for the electrocoagulation process such as pH (3–7.50), electric current (0.03–0.09 A), electrolytic concentration (1–3 g/L), the distance between electrodes (1–2 cm), electrolysis time (20–60 min) and combination of electrodes (Fe–Fe and Al–Al) were studied. The maximum removal of color–94.40%, COD–97.02%, and turbidity–90.91% with required energy consumption –36kWhr/m3 was obtained at the electric current–0.09 A, electrolyte concentration–3 g/L, pH–7, electrode combination–Fe–Fe, and distance between electrodes–3 cm, respectively. The studied parameters were affected the removal % color, % COD, % turbidity, and also the consumption of energy depending on the desired setup of fixed values of the parameter. Consumption of energy and electrode dissolution is related to the cost of operating in electrocoagulation in addition to the cost of labor and the small amount of sludge produced for disposal.

Water Treatment Using Natural Coagulant and Electrocoagulation Process: A Comparison Study

“…The good removal of contaminants from the water was achieved while the electric current was a progressive increase [ 22 ]. This can be observed that the rate of coagulant and bubble generation is determined by the applied current, and this can improve the effectiveness of pollutant removal [ 22 ].…”

“…e removal efficiencies of color [22], phosphate [42], TDS [43], COD [36,44], and BOD [44] were calculated using equations ((1)-( 5)).…”

“…Different empirical formulas were used for the analysis of surface water characteristics based on the initial and final concentrations of pollutants. The removal efficiencies of color [ 22 ], phosphate [ 42 ], TDS [ 43 ], COD [ 36 , 44 ], and BOD [ 44 ] were calculated using equations (( 1 )–( 5 )). where, Abs i and Abs f are initial and final absorbance.…”

“…A relatively novel method for enhancing the overall performance of an integrated system is the use of natural coagulant (Moringa Oleifera seed) in conjunction with the EC process. Some research was conducted in keeping one factor and evaluating the removal of different parameters from water, and investigating the effects of each factor separately [22,36,41] However, in this study, based on the adjusted values of factors either for the electrocoagulation process or Moringa Oleifera an experiment was conducted just uniformly with the increase of each factor without keeping one factor constant.…”

“…Electrocoagulation (EC) is an electrochemical process for water and wastewater treatment that is based on electrochemically dissolving cationic metallic species in situ by oxidizing a sacrificial anode only with the application of electric current [ 22 ]. By using electrical energy to dissolve the metals from the electrode surface and destabilize colloidal suspensions, electrocoagulation causes pollutants to flocculate and float [ 23 ].…”