Treatment of various agro-industrial wastewaters using electrocoagulation

Paper ID: 
cest2019_00307
Topic: 
Wastewater treatment
Published under CEST2019
Proceedings ISBN: 978-618-86292-0-2
Proceedings ISSN: 2944-9820
Authors: 
Benekos A., Papadopoulos K., Triantaphyllidou I., Tekerlekopoulou A., (Corresponding) Vayenas D.
Abstract: 
Greece, although not over-industrialized, is facing issues connected to pollution of its water resources, as conventional wastewater treatment methods often prove ineffective in terms of removing some pollutantssuch as suspended solids and pigments. Therefore, the need of developing efficient, modern anti-pollution techniques for the preservation of a viable environment is urgent as ever. Electrocoagulation (EC) is one of these widely studied, promising methods. EC consists of generating coagulant species by electrolytic dissolution of sacrificial anode materials triggered by electric current applied through the electrodes, leading to destabilization of colloidal pollutants.The present study utilizes EC for the treatment of various agro-industrial wastewaters (table olive, cheese whey, printing ink and brewery) and evaluates its efficiency under a wide range of operating parameters (current density, initial pollutant concentration, pH, electrode material).It was observed that EC proved efficient under most cases, managing effective decolorization, suspended solids sedimentation, as well as organic matter removal. Moreover, operating cost proved reasonable compared to other conventional physicochemical methods, leading to the conclusion that EC can be a viable and realistic choice for agro-industrial wastewater treatment.
Keywords: 
agro-industrial wastewaters, electrocoagulation, color, suspended solids