Treatment of refectory oily wastewater by electro-coagulation process

Electro-coagulation was used to treat refectory wastewater with high oil and grease contents. Different operational conditions were examined, including pH, current density, reaction time, conductivity, electrode distance and inlet concentration. The optimum current density was 10-14 A m(-2) within 30 min depending on the wastewater properties tested. Conductivity had little effect on the treatment efficiency. Although the addition of extra salts (e.g., sodium chloride) to the wastewater did not help increase the pollutant removal efficiency, it could save the power consumption significantly. The CODCr and oil removal efficiency descended with increasing electrode distance. The optimal electrode distance was determined to be 10 mm for this equipment in consideration of the treatment cost and efficiency together. The pH effect on the performance of the electro-coagulation process was not very significant in the range of 3-10. The removal efficiency of oil and CODCr under normal condition exceeded 95% and 75%, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.