Investigation of dye removal from wastewater using electrocoagulation method

With the development of technology and industry, water consumption and wastewater production increase in proportion. The water, which is exposed to different processes during the production stages of the textile industry, which has an important place in this sector, contains various pollutants. There are dyes at the head of these pollutants. Dyes create color problems in wastewater and are not aesthetically pleasing. For this reason, many methods such as physical, chemical and biological treatment are used in the removal of dye from wastewater and environmentally friendly technologies are improved. Electrocoagulation method is an environmentally friendly technology for many reasons such as producing high amount of treatment sludge, not requiring chemicals, easy adaptability to the system, which works with high efficiency in removing paint from wastewater. In this study, wastewater prepared in a laboratory environment and containing 3 different dyes (Acid Red 114, Acid Violet 10, Reactive Black 5) was treated using electrocoagulation method. Electrolysis time, pH, electrolyte amount, current density, initial concentration that affect the electrocoagulation efficiency were examined and optimum conditions were determined. As a result of the experimental study, in the experiment performed without adjusting the pH and electrolyte amount at 100 ppm dye concentration, 89% dye removal efficiency was achieved after 14 minutes. In each experiment where the pH was adjusted 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 32%, 95%, 90%, 93%, 81%, 46% dye removal efficiency was obtained, respectively. The dye removal efficiency obtained in experiments where the amount of electrolyte was set as 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 was 83%, 86%, 88%, 87%, 91%, 89%, respectively. The dye removal efficiency obtained in the experimental conditions, where the current density was set in the range of 4.86 mA / cm2-38.87 mA / cm2, varied between 52-98%, and in the experimental conditions set in the range of 25-200 mg/L, the removal efficiency was 37-94%. Keywords: Wastewater of textile industry, dye, electrocoagulation process