Techno-economical evaluation of electrocoagulation for the textile wastewater using different electrode connections

Purification of aqueous orange II solution through adsorption and visible-light-induced photodegradation using ZnO-modified g-C3N4 composites

Semiconductor-based remediation enables environmentally friendly methods of removing aqueous pollutants. Simply fabricated ZnO modified g-C3N4 composites were utilized as bifunctional adsorptive photocatalysts for orange II removal from aqueous solution through adsorption and photocatalysis processes. The adsorption isotherm data of the g-C3N4 (g-CN) and ZnO modified g-C3N4 (ZCN) composites on orange II solution were better fitted with the Langmuir isotherm compared to the Freundlich isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for ZCN-2.5 was slightly higher than that of bare g-CN. According to the adsorption thermodynamics investigation of ZCN-2.5 in orange II solution, the positive values of Gibb's free energy change (ΔG0) suggested a non-spontaneous adsorption process. Furthermore, the negative values of entropy change (ΔS) and enthalpy change (ΔH) indicated the decrement of randomness and exothermic nature during the adsorption process, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation kinetics of g-CN and ZCN composites indicated that the degradation process follows the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetic. The degradation rate of orange II with the ZCN-2.5 composite was 6.67 times higher than that obtained with bare g-CN. Possible adsorption and photocatalytic mechanisms have been proposed.

Comparative Study of Chemical Coagulation and Electrocoagulation for the Treatment of Real Textile Wastewater: Optimization and Operating Cost Estimation

Pollutants derived from real textile wastewater present a high environmental risk. This work involves the study of the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and turbidity from Tunisian real textile wastewater by two different water treatment technologies: chemical coagulation (CC) and electrocoagulation (EC). A comparative study between these two methods was conducted based on the separation performance and operating cost (OC). The effects of different operational parameters including electrolysis time (t), voltage, and pH for EC and the coagulant concentration, initial pH, and time of slow mixing (t _sm) for CC were studied using response surface methodology. The developed quadratic models for the responses were in good agreement with the experimental data. The experiments proved the efficiency of both chemical and electrochemical techniques for the treatment of textile effluent. Indeed, by using EC, the reduction efficiencies of COD, color, and turbidity were 63.05, 99.07, and 96.31%, respectively, under optimal conditions (pH 9, t = 36.26 min, and voltage 4 V). For CC treatment, the achieved removal efficiencies of COD, color, and turbidity were 54.02, 96.21, and 93.7%, respectively, at pH 8.57, a coagulant concentration of 204.75 mg/L, and a t _sm of 28.41 min as optimal operating conditions. The OC obtained for EC and CC was about 0.47 and 0.2 USD/m³, respectively. Even if the OC of the EC process was higher as compared to the CC process, the treated water obtained by EC meets the Tunisian Standards (NT 106.03 and NT 09-14) for textile wastewater discharge into the environment and demonstrates a high potential for its reuse in various industrial activities. EC technology can be integrated into a wastewater management system that ensures a zero liquid discharge of wastewater into the environment.

High-efficiency and energy-saving alternating pulse current electrocoagulation to remove polyvinyl alcohol in wastewater

Conventional direct current electrocoagulation (DC-EC) has disadvantages such as easy passivation of electrodes, high energy consumption, and large sludge production, which limit its use in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) wastewater. Therefore, alternating pulse current electrocoagulation (APC-EC) has been developed to overcome these problems. In this study, the influencing factors and energy consumption of PVA treatment by APC-EC and DC-EC were explored, and the best operating conditions of APC-EC were obtained via the response surface method (RSM). The best process conditions for APC-EC were determined to be the electrode type of Fe/Fe, current density of 1.0 mA cm⁻², initial pH of 7, electrode distance of 2.0 cm, supporting electrolyte of 0.08 mol L⁻¹ NaCl, initial PVA concentration of 150 mg L⁻¹, duty cycle of 30%, and frequency of 500 Hz. In addition, the floc properties of APC-EC and DC-EC were compared to explore the basic mechanism for the removal of PVA. Adsorption and co-precipitation with hydroxide iron complexes are the main methods for removing PVA from wastewater in the APC-EC process. Compared with DC-EC, the application of APC-EC can reduce electrode passivation and production of sludge and operating costs, and improve electrode stability and PVA removal efficiency. This study provides a new strategy and method for the PVA removal from wastewater by APC-EC with low cost and high efficiency, showing broad prospect for the applications of the APC-EC in removing PVA.

Compared with DC-EC, the application of APC-EC can reduce electrode passivation and production of sludge and operating costs, and improve electrode stability and PVA removal efficiency.

Electrocoagulation technology for water purification: An update review on reactor design and some newly concerned pollutants removal

Water shortage and quality deterioration are plaguing people all over the world. Providing sustainable and affordable treatment solutions to these problems is a need of the hour. Electrocoagulation (EC) technology is a burgeoning alternative for effective water treatment, which offers the virtues such as compact equipment, easy operation, and low sludge production. Compared to other water purification technologies, EC shows excellent removal efficacy for a wide range of contaminants in water and has great potential for addressing limitations of conventional water purification technologies. This review summarizes the latest development of principle, characteristics, and reactor design of EC. The design of key parameters including reactor shape, power supply type, current density, as well as electrode configuration is further elaborated. In particular, typical water treatment systems powered by renewable energy (solar photovoltaic and wind turbine systems) are proposed. Further, this review provides an overview on expanded application of EC in the removal of some newly concerned pollutants in recent years, including arsenite, perfluorinated compounds, pharmaceuticals, oil, bacteria, and viruses. The removal efficiency and mechanisms of these pollutants are also discussed. Finally, future research trend and focus are further recommended. This review can bridge the large knowledge gap for the EC application that is beneficial for environmental researchers and engineers.

Use of Electrocoagulation for Treatment of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Water/Wastewater: A Review Exploring Opportunities and Challenges

Increasing dependency on pharmaceutical compounds including antibiotics, analgesics, antidepressants, and other drugs has threatened the environment as well as human health. Their occurrence, transformation, and fate in the environment are causing significant concerns. Several existing treatment technologies are there with their pros and cons for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater (PWW). Still, electrocoagulation is considered as the modern and decisive technology for treatment. In the EC process, utilizing electricity (AC/DC) and electrodes, contaminants become coagulated with the metal hydroxide and are separated by co-precipitation. The main mechanism is charge neutralization and adsorption of contaminants on the generated flocs. The range of parameters affects the EC process and is directly related to the removal efficiency and its overall operational cost. This process only could be scaled up on the industrial level if process parameters become optimized and energy consumption is reduced. Unfortunately, the removal mechanism of particular pharmaceuticals and complex physiochemical phenomena involved in this process are not fully understood. For this reason, further research and reviews are required to fill the knowledge gap. This review discusses the use of EC for removing pharmaceuticals and focuses on removal mechanism and process parameters, the cost assessment, and the challenges involved in mitigation.

Ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents for the recovery of phenolic compounds: effect of ionic liquids structure and process parameters

Water pollution is a severe and challenging issue threatening the sustainable development of human civilization. Besides other pollutants, waste fluid streams contain phenolic compounds. These have an adverse effect on the human health and marine ecosystem due to their toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic nature. Therefore, it is necessary to remove such phenolic pollutants from waste stream fluids prior to discharging to the environment. Different methods have been proposed to remove phenolic compounds from wastewater, including extraction using ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvent (DES), a class of organic salts having melting point below 100 °C and tunable physicochemical properties. The purpose of this review is to present the progress in utilizing ILs and DES for phenolic compound extraction from waste fluid streams. The effects of IL structural characteristics, such as anion type, cation type, alkyl chain length, and functional groups will be discussed. In addition, the impact of key process parameters such as pH, phenol concentration, phase ratio, and temperature will be also described. More importantly, several ideas for addressing the limitations of the treatment process and improving its efficiency and industrial viability will be presented. These ideas may form the basis for future studies on developing more effective IL-based processes for treating wastewaters contaminated with phenolic pollutants, to address a growing worldwide environmental problem.

Performance, Energy and Cost of Produced Water Treatment by Chemical and Electrochemical Coagulation

The separation performance, energy demand, and operating costs of electro-coagulation (EC) are compared to conventional chemical coagulation for oil–water separation using a simulated oil- and gas-produced water matrix. An iron-based chemical coagulant and sacrificial iron electrodes are evaluated. Effluent turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC), and oil and grease (O&G) removal were determined for various coagulant concentrations and reaction times and current densities. Chemical coagulation produced superior turbidity removal when scaled by the total iron dose. At lower iron doses (<500 mg/L), chemical coagulation yielded better COD, turbidity, and O&G removal. However, chemical coagulation was unable to effectively remove contaminants to meet the offshore discharge limit of 29 ppm O&G. At higher iron doses, EC was more effective at removing COD and O&G. The energy consumption of EC was found to be much higher even when factoring in the energy of production, transporting, and mixing of chemical coagulants, but the overall cost of EC was approximately half the cost of chemical coagulation, and more effective at O&G removal.

Electrochemical process employing scrap metal waste as electrodes for dye removal

In the present study, efficiency of electro-coagulation-flotation (EC-F) process using waste metal scrap of Al and Fe collected from construction and demolition waste of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M) campus for the removal of double azo bond dye Acid Red 66 (AR66) was studied. The key operating parameters such as current density and electrical conductivity were optimized individually with an initial dye concentration of 50 mg/L, at pH 7. Different electrode combinations and connection modes (parallel MP-P, series (MP-S, BP-S)) were tested, at pre-optimized conditions, in order to achieve better removal of AR66 dye with minimum energy consumption. Series connection in bipolar electrode mode (BP-S) showed better COD reduction from 164 mg/L to 26.2 mg/L with complete decolourization (BDL). Hybrid electrode system of Fe-Al-Fe-Al-Fe-Al showed maximum reduction of COD from 164 mg/L to 11.3 mg/L along with 86.3% TSS reduction and complete decolourization. LC-MS analysis showed the formation of intermediates with m/z 195, m/z 210.6 and m/z 159.3 due to the destruction of AR66 dye during electrolysis. Highest current efficiency (CE φ = 107%) was observed in case of hybrid electrode system compared to Al (φ = 30.1%) and Fe (φ = 98.3%) electrode system at similar operating conditions. Compared to the same electrode material as anode and cathode, use of appropriate hybrid electrode combination can improve the removal efficiency and reduce the energy consumption (ENC). The influence of aeration on the performance of the system was also studied. Aeration significantly improved the COD removal efficiency (98.3%) along with complete decolourization (100%). The use of waste metal scrap as electrodes reduced the overall cost of the treatment process from 1.6 $/m³ to 0.06 $/m³. Using waste metal scrap as electrodes not only reduces the metal accumulation in the environment but also reduces the cost of EC-F process.

Optimization of Physicochemical Parameters during the Electrocoagulation Cadmium Elimination

The increased use of fertilizers from phosphates in agriculture generates water pollution by heavy metals contained in these phosphates at levels higher than the standards. In our study, we used a cadmium nitrate Cd(NO3)2 solution to simulate artificially polluted water, whose decontamination efficiency will be evaluated by an electrocoagulation/flotation process. During this work, we aimed to optimize the electrocoagulation process according to the following factors: initial pH of the solution, density of the electrolysis current, cell time, and nature of the supporting electrolyte and its concentration. The criteria adopted during the optimization of the process are relatively different from those used in similar studies. Indeed, we have tried to achieve maximum efficiency and also seeking to minimize costs and facilitate implementation. We achieved a 98% Cd removal efficiency from the solution at pH = 7, J = 6.25 A/m2, t = 10 min, and [K2SO4] = 0.01 M. In addition, during the characterization of the flocs obtained as a supernatant, we first highlighted the presence of Cd in this gelatinous body and then the relatively easy volatility of Cd as well as that of aluminum oxide (Al2O3).

A comprehensive review on contaminants removal from pharmaceutical wastewater by electrocoagulation process

The pharmaceuticals are emergent contaminants, which can create potential threats for human health and the environment. All the pharmaceutical contaminants are becoming enormous in the environment as conventional wastewater treatment cannot be effectively implemented due to toxic and intractable action of pharmaceuticals. For this reason, the existence of pharmaceutical contaminants has brought great awareness, causing significant concern on their transformation, occurrence, risk, and fate in the environments. Electrocoagulation (EC) treatment process is effectively applied for the removal of contaminants, radionuclides, pesticides, and also harmful microorganisms. During the EC process, an electric current is employed directly, and both electrodes are dissoluted partially in the reactor under the special conditions. This electrode dissolution produces the increased concentration of cation, which is finally precipitated as hydroxides and oxides. Different anode materials usage like aluminum, stainless steel, iron, etc. are found more effective in EC operation for efficient removal of pharmaceutical contaminants. Due to the simple procedure and less costly material, EC method is extensively recognized for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment over further conventional treatment methods. The EC process has more usefulness to destabilize the pharmaceutical contaminants with the neutralization of charge and after that coagulating those contaminants to produce flocs. Thus, the review places particular emphasis on the application of EC process to remove pharmaceutical contaminants. First, the operational parameters influencing EC efficiency with the electroanalysis techniques are described. Second, in this review emerging challenges, current developments and techno-economic concerns of EC are highlighted. Finally, future recommendations and prospective on EC are envisioned.

Treatment of mixed industrial wastewater by electrocoagulation and indirect electrochemical oxidation

Treatment of mixed industrial wastewater is a challenging task due to its high complexity. This work scrutinizes the electrochemical treatment of mixed industrial wastewater, specifically electrocoagulation and indirect electrochemical oxidation processes through COD and color removal studies. Both processes are found to be more efficient at the wastewater pH. Monopolar connection was found more effective than bipolar connection for the removal of COD and color from wastewater. The monopolar connection removed COD up to 55% and color 56% whereas bipolar connection leads to the removal of 43% and 48% respectively at wastewater pH with an applied voltage 1.5 V in the course of 1 h of electrolysis. In the case of indirect electrochemical oxidation process using graphite electrodes, the COD and color abatement efficiencies of the indirect electrochemical oxidation process were found as 55% and 99.8%, respectively within 1 h of electrolysis conducted at pH 7.7, applied voltage 4 V, and NaCl concentration 1 g L^-1. This work also highlights the importance of the presence of electrolytes in the indirect electrochemical oxidation process as the external addition of sodium chloride significantly enhanced both COD and color elimination efficiency.

Treatment of re-refining effluent from lubricating oils by combining electrocoagulation and coagulation-flocculation processes

A combination of electrocoagulation and coagulation-flocculation processes was used for re-refining effluent from lubricating oils. The efficiency of the process was evaluated based on the chemical oxygen demand (COD), color, and turbidity of the refined effluent. Electrocoagulation (EC) and coagulation-flocculation parameters, such as the initial pH (3.00, 4.41, and 9.00), and current density (4, 9, and 16 A/m²), and the use of aluminum polychloride coagulant and superfloc A300 flocculant were studied. EC performed at pH 9, with a current density of 16 A/m² and 7 V, resulted in removal efficiencies of 85.14%, 99.81%, and 99.85%, for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively. The removal efficiencies increased to 96%, 99.87%, and 99.94% for COD, color, and turbidity, respectively, by the further coagulation-flocculation treatment in the presence of 13.8 mg/L aluminum polychloride coagulant and 80 mg/L Superfloc A300 flocculant.

Photocatalytic treatment of petroleum industry wastewater using recirculating annular reactor: comparison of experimental and modeling

In this study, the treatment of petroleum wastewater has been investigated by applying heterogeneous photocatalytic process using a recirculating annual reactor. An attempt has been made to study the effect of operating parameters such as TiO₂ load, initial concentration of the pollutant, emitted photonic flux, and pH of the solution. The degradation efficiency of toluene and benzene, as target molecules, was studied. In fact, result showed that the toluene is better degraded alone than when it is in a mixture. The rate of elimination of toluene separately was 89.5%, while it was 76.19 and 79.55% in the binary (toluene/benzene) and the ternary mixtures (toluene/benzene/xylene), respectively. Moreover, the mineralization of the solution decreased more rapidly when toluene was pure with a rate of 83.13% compared to binary and ternary mixtures. A mathematical model is proposed taking into account the parameters influencing the process performances. The mass transfer step, the degradation, and the mineralization kinetics of the pollutants were defined as model parameters. To build the model, mass balances are written in bulk region and catalyst phase (solid phase). The degradation mechanism on solid phase is divided in two stages. Firstly, the removal of toluene gives an equivalent intermediate (EI). Secondly, EI is oxidized into carbon dioxide (CO₂). This approach gives a good agreement between modeling and empirical data in terms of degradation and mineralization. It also allows for the simulation of toluene kinetics without knowing the plausible chemical pathway. A satisfactory fit with experimental data was obtained for the degradation and mineralization of toluene.

Applicability of the electrocoagulation process in treating real municipal wastewater containing pharmaceutical active compounds

In this study, the viability of using electrocoagulation process as a method for pharmaceuticals removal from real municipal wastewater was demonstrated. Batch experimental runs were performed using a simple laboratory scale electrochemical reactor with aluminium and stainless steel as anode and cathode, respectively. Diclofenac (DCF), carbamazepine (CBZ) and amoxicillin (AMX) were selected as representative of pharmaceuticals frequently detected in the aquatic environment. The effects of varying experimental parameters namely current density (0.3, 0.5 1.15 and 1.8 mA cm^-2), initial pharmaceutical concentration (0.01, 4 and 10 mg L^-1), electrolysis duration (3, 6 and 19 h) and application mode (continuous vs. intermittent) on pharmaceutical removal efficiencies were evaluated. High pharmaceutical abatement was recorded at elevated current density and prolonged electrolysis duration due to additional electro-generated coagulant species in solution.

An update on synthetic dyes adsorption onto clay based minerals: A state-of-art review

Dyes are growing to be a problematic class of pollutants to the environment. The disposal of dyes in water resources has bad aesthetic and health effects, hence the need to remove them from the environment. The need for treatment methods that are effective and low in price is rising hence a lot of research interest is being diverted towards adsorbents that are cheap, preferable naturally occurring materials like clays. In most reported dye adsorption studies, limited information on the relationship between characterization results with adsorbent performance on dye removal has been given. This review article seeks to report on the link between the adsorption characteristics of the clays and their adsorption capacities and to gather information on the modifications done on clays to improve their adsorption capacities. A critical analysis of the different mechanisms involved during the decolouration process and their application for dye removal has been discussed in detail in this up-to-date review. From a wide range of consulted literature review, it is evident that some clays have appreciable adsorption capacities on top of being widely available. It was also noted that several parameters like contact time, dosage, concentration, temperature and pH affect the removal of dyes. Furthermore, the application of clay minerals for decolourising water represents economic viable and locally available materials that can be used substantially for pollution control and management. Conclusions were also drawn and suggestions for future research perspectives are proposed.

Recent trends in removal and recovery of heavy metals from wastewater by electrochemical technologies

Heavy metal-laden water and wastewater pose a threat to biodiversity, including human health. Contaminated wastewater can be treated with several separation and purification methods. Among them, electrochemical treatment is a notable clean technology, versatile and environmentally compatible for the removal and recovery of inorganic pollutants from water and wastewater. Electrochemical technology provides solution for the recovery of metals in their most valuable state. This paper analyses the most recent electrochemical approaches for the removal and recovery of metal ions. Various current works involving cell design and electrode development were addressed in distinguished electrochemical processes, namely, electrodeposition, electrocoagulation, electroflotation, and electrosorption. Cathodic reduction of metal ions has been proven in result to metal deposit on the metal, metal oxide, stainless steel, and graphite electrode. However, little progress has been made toward electrode modification, particularly the cathode for the purpose of cathodic reduction and deposition. Meanwhile, emerging advanced materials, such as ionic liquids, have been presented to be prominent to the technological advancement of electrode modifications. It has been projected that by integrating different priorities into the design approach for electrochemical reactors and recent electrode developments, several insights can be obtained that will contribute toward the enhancement of the electrochemical process performance for the effective removal and recovery of heavy metals from water and wastewater in the near future.

Comparative study of humic acid removal and floc characteristics by electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation

The current study aims at investigating the efficiency of electrocoagulation for the removal of humic acid from contaminated waters. In parallel, conventional chemical coagulation was conducted to asses humic acid removal patterns. The effect of varying contributing parameters (matrix pH, humic acid concentration, type of electrode (aluminum vs. iron), current density, solution conductivity, and distance between electrodes) was considered to optimize the electrocoagulation process for the best attainable humic acid removal efficiencies. Optimum removals were recorded at pH of 5.0-5.5, an electrical conductivity of 3000 μS/cm at 25 °C, and an electrode distance of 1 cm for both electrode types. With aluminum electrodes, a current density of 0.05 mA/cm2 outperformed 0.1 mA/cm2 yet not higher densities, whereas a current density of 0.8 mA/cm2 was needed for iron electrodes to exhibit comparable performance. With both electrode types, higher initial humic acid concentrations were removed at a slower rate but ultimately attained almost complete removals. On the other hand, the best humic acid removals (∼90%) by chemical coagulation were achieved at 4 mg/L for both coagulants. Also, higher removals were attained at elevated initial humic acid concentrations. Humic acid removals of 90% or higher at an initial HA concentration of 40 mg/L were exhibited, yet alum performed better at the highest experimented concentration. It was evident that iron flocs were larger, denser, and more geometrical in shape compared to aluminum flocs.

Electrocoagulation in a packed bed reactor-complete treatment of color and cod from real textile wastewater

This paper deals with the efficiency of electrocoagulation (EC) for the abatement of COD and absorbance (i.e. color) from real textile wastewater using a packed bed electrochemical reactor in a unique design, not previously encountered in the literature for the treatment of textile wastewater by electrocoagulation. The cylindrical iron reactor was used as a cathode while the packed bed formed from wrapped iron wire netting was used as an anode. Various operating parameters, such as current density, initial pH, wastewater recirculation flow rate and continuous flow regime, were examined for intensifying the performance of the process. Also, calculation of electrical energy consumption and the characterization of sludge formed during electrocoagulation have been performed. The initial COD concentration of 1953 mg/L was reduced to 61 mg/L with a removal efficiency of 96.88%, while the color of the wastewater was almost completely removed. The experimental results, throughout the present study, have indicate that electrocoagulation of textile wastewater using a uniquely designed reactor was very effective and direct dischargeable effluent, complying with legal requirements, was obtained. The XRD analysis of the sludge produced during EC reveals that maghemite (Fe2O3) is the main by-product formed after EC.

Photoelectrocatalytic degradation of acid dye using Ni-TiO2 with the energy supplied by solar cell: mechanism and economical studies

This paper reports an investigation into the effect of a number of operating factors on the removal of Acid Red 88 from an aqueous solution through photoelectrocatalysis: photocatalyst dose, dye concentration, pH, bias potential, and electrolyte concentration. The photocatalyst was Ni-TiO2 applied in suspension to the solution to achieve a larger catalyst surface area. The optimum values for photocatalyst dose, dye concentration, and electrolyte concentration turned out to be 0.6 mg L(-1), 50 mg L(-1), and 5 mg L(-1), respectively. Also, the best pH was found to be 7, and bias potential proved to be best at 1.6 V. The aqueous solution was characterized for its COD and TOC. Photocatalyst efficiency was evaluated using SEM and XRD techniques. The characterization of the post-treatment product using FT-IR, HPLC, and GC-MS studies revealed intermediate compounds. A pathway was proposed for the degradation of the dye. The energy required by the experiment was supplied by solar cells, meaning the money that would have otherwise been spent on electricity was saved. Cost analysis was also done for the treatment process.

Degradation of dyes from aqueous solution by Fenton processes: a review

Several industries are using dyes as coloring agents. The effluents from these industries are increasingly becoming an environmental problem. The removal of dyes from aqueous solution has a great potential in the field of environmental engineering. This paper reviews the classification, characteristics, and problems of dyes in detail. Advantages and disadvantages of different methods used for dye removal are also analyzed. Among these methods, Fenton process-based advanced oxidation processes are an emerging prospect in the field of dye removal. Fenton processes have been classified and represented as "Fenton circle". This paper analyzes the recent studies on Fenton processes. The studies include analyzing different configurations of reactors used for dye removal, its efficiency, and the effects of various operating parameters such as pH, catalyst concentration, H2O2 concentration, initial dye concentration, and temperature of Fenton processes. From the present study, it can be conclude that Fenton processes are very effective and environmentally friendly methods for dye removal.

Treatment of colored and real industrial effluents through electrocoagulation using solar energy

This study was undertaken to investigate the removal of Acid Orange 2 (sodium 4-[(2E)-2-(2-oxonaphthalen-1-ylidene) hydrazinyl] benzenesulfonate) and Reactive Blue 19 (2-Anthracenesulfonicacid,1-amino-9,10-dihydro-9,10-dioxo-4-[[3-[[2-(sulfooxy) ethyl] sulfonyl] phenyl] amino]-,sodium salt (1:2)) from synthesized and real effluents through electrocoagulation using solar cells for the purpose of improving economic efficiency of the process. The impact of a number of key operating parameters was explored including current density, anode type, temperature, pH, and electrolyte concentration. The current density of 45 Am(-2) proved to be the optimum level for both dyes. The same optimum alternatives were found for the other parameters in both cases: iron anode, a temperature level of 25°C, a pH of 7, and an electrolyte concentration of 15 mg L(-1). Both effluent samples were subjected to COD (chemical oxygen demand) and TOC (total organic carbon) tests. Cost analysis was performed for the treatment process.