Studies on electrode combination for COD removal from domestic wastewater using electrocoagulation

Abstract

Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical method that uses sacrificial electrodes to remediate wastewater. The combination of electrodes for the treatment of domestic wastewater is the factor that influences the removal efficiency of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) by using the electrocoagulation process. Aluminum and Iron electrodes are combined as anode-cathode and cathode-anode in Al–Al, Fe–Fe, Al–Fe, and Fe–Al. Different factors are considered to evaluate the removal efficiency of COD like; pH (3–9), reaction time (15–60 min), and current density (9.23–45 A/m2). Based on this influencing factor Al–Al and Fe–Fe can remove COD up to 87.5 % and 90 % respectively. Similarly, 87.5 % and 88.89 % of COD were removed, when aluminum and iron were combined as Al–Fe and Fe–Al respectively. In addition, the effects of different operating parameters were discussed on the removal percentage of COD. This indicated that the combination of electrode influence the removal efficiency of COD using the electrocoagulation process under different operating parameters.