INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT BY ELECTROCOAGULATION- Resmi P S

ABSTRACT

          Industries are the one among the major consumers of water. Wastewater from industries should comply the wastewater standards. Inadequate treatment of the effluent may result in the release of polluted wastewater to natural water bodies which cause surface and ground water pollution. But the technical advancements make it possible to treat the industrial wastewater to a good quality so that it can be discharged or reused safely.

Electro coagulation utilizes direct current to cause sacrificial electrode ions to remove undesirable contaminants either by chemical reaction and precipitation or by causing colloidal materials and then be removed by electrocoagulation. The electro coagulation system has been found to be effective in treating wastewaters such as paper pulp mill waste, metal plating, tanneries, canning factories, steel mill effluent, slaughter houses, chromate, lead and mercury laden effluents, as well as domestic sewage. These wastewaters will be reduced to clear, clean, odorless and reusable water.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of the electro-coagulation in treating latex wastewater. The influence of electrocoagulation time, voltage, pH, current density, initial metal ion concentration and conductivity on removal performance was explored. The results showed that metal removal increased with increasing current density, electrocoagulation time and conductivity. The results indicated that electrocoagulation with aluminium electrode was very efficient and was able to achieve heavy metal removal. Results obtained with latex wastewater revealed that the most effective removal capacity was obtained at pH 7, current density 135 A/m2, conductivity 13.2 mS/cm. When industrial wastewater was treated at optimized conditions removal was obtained as Zn 87.45% Cu 90.12%, Pb 94% Cr 92.5% in 35 min. The method was found to be highly efficient and relatively fast compared to conventional existing techniques.

BY
RESMI P S
ASSISTANT ENGINEER
LSGD SECTION 
KARAKULAM G P
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM