Comparison of Electrocoagulation and Chemical Coagulation Processes in Removing Reactive red 196 from Aqueous Solution

Conventional chemical coagulation is considered as the old method to color and COD removal in textile effluent. Electrocoagulation (EC) process is a robust method to achieve maximum removal.
This work was designed to compare the result of operational parameters including optimum pH and coagulant concentration for chemical coagulation with ferric chloride and alum. Also, the effect of voltage, electrolysis time, initial pH, and conductivity for EC with iron electrodes on removal of reactive red 196 (RR 196) were studied.
The results show that ferric chloride and alum at optimum concentration were capable of taking away color and COD equal to 79.63 %, 84.83%, 53%, and 55% respectively. In contrast, EC process removed the color and COD equal to 99.98% and 90.4%, respectively.
The highest treatment efficiency was obtained by increasing the voltage, electrolysis time, pH and conductivity. Increase in initial dye concentration reduces removal efficiency. Ultimately, it could be concluded that EC technology is an efficient procedure for handling of colored industrial wastewaters.