Influence of voltage input to heavy metal removal from electroplating wastewater using electrocoagulation process

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 2017-03, Vol.60 (1), p.12026
• Main Authors: Wulan, D R, Cahyaningsih, S, Djaenudin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Atomic absorption analysis; Chromium; Copper; Detention time; Electric potential; Electrocoagulation; Electroplating; Heavy metal content; Heavy metals; Industrial wastewater; Iron; Laboratories; Metal concentrations; Metal industry wastewaters; pH effects; Plating; Reactors; Scaling up; Spectral analysis; Voltage; Wastewater treatment; Zinc
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/60/1/012026

In medium capacity, electroplating industry usually treats wastewater until 5 m3 per day. Heavy metal content becomes concern that should be reduced. Previous studies performed electrocoagulation method on laboratory scale, either batch or continuous. This study was aimed to compare the influence of voltage input variation into heavy metal removal in electroplating wastewater treatment using electrocoagulation process on laboratory-scale in order to determine the optimum condition for scaling up the reactor into pilot-scale. The laboratory study was performed in 1.5 L glass reactor in batch system using wastewater from electroplating industry, the voltage input varied at 20, 30 and 40 volt. The electrode consisted of aluminium 32 cm2 as sacrifice anode and copper 32 cm2 as cathode. During 120 min electrocoagulation process, the pH value was measured using pH meter, whereas the heavy metal of chromium, copper, iron, and zinc concentration were analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Result showed that removal of heavy metals from wastewater increased due to the increasing of voltage input. Different initial concentration of heavy metals on wastewater, resulted the different detention time. At pilot-scale reactor with 30 V voltage input, chromium, iron, and zinc reached removal efficiency until 89-98%, when copper reached 79% efficiency. At 40V, removal efficiencies increased on same detention time, i.e. chromium, iron, and zinc reached 89-99%, whereas copper reached 85%. These removal efficiencies have complied the government standard except for copper that had higher initial concentration in wastewater. Kinetic rate also calculated in this study as the basic factor for scaling up the process.