Binary system dye removal by electrocoagulation from synthetic and real colored wastewaters

In this study, binary system dye removal by electrocoagulation (EC) process using aluminum electrode was studied in a batch electrochemical reactor. Acid Black 52 and Acid Yellow 220 were used as model dyes. The effect of operating parameters such as conductivity, current density, initial dye concentration and pH on the electrocoagulation process was studied and the electrical energy consumption was calculated. Also the wool dyeing process has been performed and the dye removal from real colored wastewater by the electrocoagulation process has been studied. It was found that the increasing of the current density up to 40 A/m(2) had increased the dye removal efficiency and the optimum pH for EC process was 5. The increasing of electrolyte concentration from 0 to 8 g/L had a negligible effect on the color removal but it has decreased the electrical energy consumption. Data for single and binary systems of dye removal and the results for the synthetic solutions and the real colored wastewater were too close and it can be concluded that the electrocoagulation process is an effective method to remove dyes from colored wastewaters. (C) 2011 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.