Treatment of paper industry wastewater by electrocoagulation

In this study, it is aimed to reach national discharge standarts of paper industry wastewater treatment by electrocoagulation method. For this purpose the experimental studies were carried out in three parts. The effect of several parameters, such as supporting electrolyte concentration, current density, pH, agitation speed, H2O2 concentration and type of electrode material on COD removal efficiency and energy consumption were determined with using iron flat blade disc turbine type anodes and cylindrical iron cathode. The best treatment efficiency was observed initial COD of 1220 mg/L being reduced to 90 mg/L resulting in overall removal efficiency of 92.6%. Also, the high iron content ( %80 Fe2O3) sludge produced during electrocoagulation was characterized and used as a catalyst in the catalytic pyrolysis of a bio-oil process for producing bio-oil. In second part of the experiments, the effect of several parameters, such as supporting electrolyte concentration, current density, pH, agitation speed, H2O2 concentration and type of electrode material on COD removal efficiency and energy consumption were determined with using same design aluminum anodes and aluminum cathode which is made of aluminum. The best treatment efficiency was observed initial COD of 1220 mg/L being reduced to 27,6 mg/L resulting in overall removal efficiency of 98%. The sludge produced during the electrocoagulation was characterized and used as an aluminum source to produce polymer composites because of their high aluminum oxide content. In third part of the experiments, electro penton of paper wastewater was studied using same electrodes which is made of iron. The effects of initial pH, current density and concentration of H2O2 on COD removal efficiency were determined. The removal efficiency of 81 % were obtained and the electrical energy consumptions were also evaluated. Keywords : Electrocoagulation, Electro-Fenton, COD, Prolysis, Polymer.