Box-Behnken design for COD removal of textile wastewater using electrocoagulation with pulsed DC

ABSTRACT The effective and economically viable removal of industrial wastewater pollutants is still a challenge. Thus, this study proposed to investigate the electrocoagulation technology (EC) for the treatment of textile effluent using pulsed direct current (CCP). The methodology of Box-Behnken response surface was used to analyze and optimize the operating conditions, aimed at maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. The experiments were performed with a reaction volume of 2.6 L in batch mode. Based on these results, the optimal configuration was: agitation speed = 200 rpm, frequency of pulses = 1,000 Hz and spacing between electrodes = 1 mm, in 50 minutes of EC. Under these conditions it was obtained a COD removal of 81.23% (remainder value of 152 mg O2.L-1). In addition, it was found that the EC process is also effective for reduction of color, turbidity, total suspended solids, sulfate and sulfide. The concentration of chloride ions was not modified during the EC, presenting itself as a favorable aspect for the reuse of treated wastewater in the textile production process itself, which demands a high concentration of NaCl.