Context:

Electrocoagulation (EC) has become a viable process that allows minimizing the contaminant loadings in the industrial wastewater, through electrodes arranged on an electrical reactor. This technique applies the coagulation-flocculation fundaments, allowing water reuse on an industrial scale.

Objective:

This study seeks to assess the efficiency of the EC technique for the treatment of mixed wastewater originated in the dairy and meat industry (DMWW).

Materials and Methods:

The wastewater used in the study was obtained from meat and dairy products plant effluents of the Popular University of Cesar (UPC). The effect of two design variables of the rectangular Bach-type electrocoagulation system was assessed on the physicochemical characteristics of the DMWW during the EC process: the number of electrodes and treatment time. The wastewater characteristics used as indicators of the treatment efficiency from electro-coagulator were CODtotal, CODsoluble, electric conductivity, pH, and Turbidity. The design variable of the electrocoagulation system related to the number of electrodes consisted of three configurations, 3, 6, and 13 iron electrodes connected in parallel. The electrodes were energized with a source of direct current (DC) to 360 Watts and a constant voltage of 12 V. The treatment time variable was a maximum of 60 minutes with evaluation of the wastewater indicators every 15 minutes.

Results:

During the EC experiments, the design configuration of 13 parallel electrodes and 60 minutes was the best for the DMWW treatment. This electrocoagulation design configuration system allowed the reductions of CODtotal, CODsoluble, and turbidity with maximum reduction efficiency of 96%, 95%, and 94%, respectively. On the other hand, EC increased the electrical conductivity, current, and pH values, obtaining final mean values of 2785 µS cm-1, 11,6 A y 12,63, respectively.

Conclusions:

The rectangular Bach-type electrocoagulation system proved to be efficient during its operation with 13 electrodes and 60 minutes of retention for the DDWW treatment.

Funding:

Popular University of Cesar (UPC) / Research group of Sanitary and Environmental studies - E.S.A.