Comparison of the effectiveness electrocoagulation of dye (batik waste water) using iron and zinc as an anodes

Abstract

This study aims to obtain dye (batik waste water) treatment by electrocoagulation with optimal results. The performance of electrocoagulation process was carried out in batch reactor. Four variables were taken which thought to greatly influence the electrocoagulation process, such as: distance between electrodes, voltage, acidity (pH) and electrolysis time. In this process, samples of 20 mL were taken out from the batch at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 dan 50 minutes of contact time. Results obtained show that the most effective removal efficiency could be achieved at alkaline condition. Research that has been done shows that the percentage of wastewater treatment results is strongly influenced by the four variable changes. The study demonstrated that the lowest degradation efficiency occours at acid pH, while an increase temperature has only a slight effect on the electrocoagulation process. The maximum results from the electrocoagulation processes was obtained, with determine by measurement of chemical oxygen demand (COD). The results showed that, iron is better used as an anode than zinc. The effectiveness electrocoagulation reached optimal at 96.54% (at Fe anode) and 81.65% (at Zn anode), at alkaline condition (pH > 9), electrolysis time of 30 minutes, electrode distance of 1 cm and temperature at 70°C.