Reduction of turbidity and chromium content of tannery wastewater by electrocoagulation process

Abstract

The present study is carried out to remove chromium and turbidity from tannery wastewater using the electrocoagulation process with aluminum electrodes. This experimental study is carried out using a batch system. The applied pilot comprises a reactor containing two parallel metal electrodes (Al). The latter are connected as monopolar, and a different potential is applied between them. Several working parameters, such as applied potential difference, electrolysis time, active electrode surface, interelectrode distance, and the pH of the medium have been studied to achieve higher removal efficiency. The treatment reached a maximum reduction of 99% for turbidity and 93% for chromium under the following conditions: 15 V applied potential difference, 45 cm 2 electrode surface, 1 cm interelectrode distance, pH 6.1 raw water, and a contact time of 90 min. Given the treatment efficiency obtained in this study, electrocoagulation process has the potential to be used for the cost-effective removal of wastewater pollutants.