A clean production process for edible oil removal from wastewater using an electroflotation with horizontal arrangement of mesh electrodes

In this study, a novel electrochemical process using horizontal arrangement of stainless steel mesh electrodes was proposed to improve the flotation rate of oily wastewater treatment with emphasis on kinetic analysis and by-products removal. The effect of the current density (1.64-6.54 mA/cm(2)), initial pH (3-9), electrode distance (1-3 cm), supporting electrolyte (50-350 mg/l), and initial concentration (1000-4000 mg/l as COD) were investigated, and the optimum reaction conditions were found to be 4.11 mA/cm(2), 80 min, pH 7, 1 cm, a NaCl concentration of 150 mg/l, and a chemical oxygen demand concentration (COD) of 4000 mg/l, respectively. The generated sludge and scum were examined through X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction analyses. The types of fatty acids present and their removal efficiencies were evaluated using the gas chromatography-flame ionization detector technique. The surface morphology of the mesh electrodes was studied using scanning electron microscopy. The highest chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency was calculated to be 94.6% +/- 0.2%, and gas chromathography analysis showed that 97.71% of fatty acids were removed. The kinetics study showed that the removal reaction was consistent with a pseudo-second order equation. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.