Electerocoagulation of Blue and Mixed Azo Dyes and Application in Treating Simulated Textile Effluent

This study investigated the efficiency of electerocoagulation (EC) in removing color from synthetic and simulated textile wastewater. The study on decolorization of mixed dyes is a step toward an effective treatment of textile wastewater. Two representative reactive dye molecules were selected for the synthetic dye wastewater, a blue dye alone and mixed dye (black, blue, red, 1:1:1v/v). The EC technique showed satisfactory color (98 %) and chemical oxygen demand (85%) removal efficiency and reliable performance in treating both individual and mixed dye types. The removal efficiency and energy consumption data showed that, for a given pH and optimum current density:100A/m2, Fe or Al were used in treating the dyes with an initial concentration of 100-1200 mg/L, the energy cost in achieving above 98% color removal was on order of 0.73-1.27kWh/m3 wastewater in all systems, water recovery was 0.97. It was found that the operating parameters used for the synthetic dye wastewater were less effective for treatment of simulated textile wastewater.