The efficiency of electrocoagulation in treating wastewater from a dairy industry, Part I: Iron electrodes

Iron electrodes were used for electrocoagulation (EC) treatment of wastewater from a dairy plant. Electrolysis time, pH, current density and distance between electrodes were considered to assess the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids (TS) and their fractions and turbidity. Samples were collected from the effluent of a dairy plant using a sampling methodology proportional to the flow. The treatments were applied according to design factorial of half fraction with two levels of treatments and three repetitions at the central point. The optimization of parameters for treating dairy industry effluent by electrocoagulation using iron electrodes showed that electric current application for 15 minutes, an initial sample pH close to neutral (pH 7.0) and a current density of 50 A.(m-2) resulted in a significant reduction in COD by 58%; removal of turbidity, suspended solids and volatile suspended solids by 95%; and a final treated effluent pH of approximately 9.5. Negative consequences of the type of electrode used were the emergence of an undesirable color and an increase in the proportion of dissolved solids in the treated effluent.