Treatement of the Wastewater from E-PVC Unit in a Petrochemical Company Using Electrocoagulation Method

Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical process which is proven to be effective in water and wastewater treatment. In this research study, electrocoagulation method which was based on electron exchange, flocculation and flotation was used for the treatement of wastewater vrom E-PVC unit in Arvand Petrochemical Company. Most of the contaminants from this unit contain suspended solids, dissolved solids and chemical oxygen. In this study, the batch and continuous units of electrocoagulation process were built. The experimental design was carried out by Design Expert 7 software. Results of the analysis show that density of flow, number of electrodes and PH are the most important parameters. Time and distance between electrodes are less effective than the original parameters listed. In addition, the increased or decreased effect on efficiency of the surface response is evaluated. Results showed that electrocoagulation process could conveniently remove major pollutants from the E-PVC unit. The experimental analysis of the wastewater from the E-PVC unit indicate the proper operation of the electrical coagulation process. These results indicate that the electrical coagulation process can easily remove significant pollutants from the wastewater. The function of this process can be expressed as TSS removal: 84-95%, TDS: 51-80%, COD: 80-92%, OD: 80-95%, and TN and TP over 80%.