Once through continuous mode electrocoagulation for tannery wastewater remediation: Process optimization and performance evaluation

The treatment of wastewater from tannery industries poses significant challenges due to high levels of tannic acid and chemical oxygen demand (COD), along with low biodegradability. To address this issue, we conducted a study focusing on the use of Electrocoagulation (EC) as a treatment process for synthetic tannery wastewater. Iron (Fe) electrodes have been used as anode and cathode as well. The electrodes size (7 cm x 7 cm) has been used in this process. The investigation of removal efficiencies entailed the assessment of total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) as indicators of organic contaminant levels within the wastewater. The influence of current density, pH, flowrate, and time on the treatment was measured. At a current density of 51 A/m2 with 83.54 % of COD removal and 27 % of TOC removal were observed. The maximum COD removal was found at pH 4.93, flowrate 5 ml/min, current 0.953 A and time 115 min. The current investigation demonstrated the efficacy of the electrocoagulation process in reducing both total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels in synthetic tannery wastewater.