Efficiency of the electrochemical treatment of textile effluent using two configurations of sacrificial electrodes

Resumo

Textile industries have as main characteristic the generation of effluents with high color, and efficient treatment techniques are necessary. In this context, this study compared the efficiency of the electrochemical treatment for color removal from synthetic textile effluent using two configurations of sacrificial electrodes, parallel plates and array of cylindrical electrodes. For application of the electroflocculation technique, an electrochemical reactor was used, in a laboratory scale, operated in a continuous flow. The synthetic textile effluent was prepared with preset concentrations of reactive dye Blue 5G and sodium chloride. Sacrificial iron (Fe) electrodes with different configurations were used: parallel plates and cylindrical electrodes. The Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) and electric current density (j) were controlled, and their effects on color removal were evaluated using a Central Composite Rotational Design (CCRD) composed of 12 trials. For the electrochemical treatment using parallel plates, the color removal efficiency ranged from 56.13% to 98.95% and for the electrochemical treatment using an array of cylindrical electrode, the color removal efficiency varied from 2.11% to 97.84%. The mathematical models representative of the process explained a high proportion of the total data variability, with a coefficient of variation of 99.49% and 97.21% for parallel plates and arrangement of cylindrical electrodes, respectively. The electrochemical treatment using parallel plates presents advantages over the configuration using a cylindrical electrode array, since the color removal efficiency is superior under the same operating conditions, representing economic and environmental gains.