Performance Evaluation of Electrocoagulation Reactor for the Treatment of Distillery Wastewater

Abstract

In the recent times, numerous studies have been conducted on electrocoagulation process, yet it is a different area of study. Nearly all of the research work laid emphasis on the treatment of various wastewaters that we come across in our daily lives like household, agricultural and industrial wastewater for the reduction of pollution caused by them. It also gives us an idea of how the process works, the effect of electrode materials and various operating conditions and the design of the reactor. Electrocoagulation has a certain number of merits as well as demerits as indicated in the literature, it still has been used for over a hundred years for treating polluted water. The reactor employed for treatment comprised of sheets of acrylic. The electrodes used were made from aluminium and iron. The process has been found effective in the treatment of different varieties of wastewater including water below the ground surface. The objective of the present study is to inspect the outcomes of the various operational parameters like electrode material, inter electrode distance and electrolysis time on COD, BOD, turbidity and TSS removal on the treatment of distillery wastewater. Thus it can be concluded that EC process is productive for treating distillery wastewater which showed highest of COD removal of 83.65%; 75% turbidity removal; 83.36% BOD removal and 83.23% of TSS reduction.