Effect of electrode configuration and voltage variations on electrocoagulation process in surfactant removal from laundry wastewater

Abstract

Almost all human life requires water, one of which is washing clothes. However, city people tend to use laundry services. It is necessary to treat laundry wastewater because it contains parameters that can cause environmental pollution. A promising technique has been found to treat urban wastewater, especially laundry wastewater. An electrochemical method for water treatment is known as electrocoagulation, in which a solution of an active coagulant in the form of metal ions (aluminum or iron) is introduced into a solution. In electrocoagulation, the processes of adsorption, coagulation, precipitation, and flotation taking place. This research was conducted to determine the impact of current on electrocoagulation using Al-Al, Fe-Fe, Al-Fe, Fe-Al electrodes in reducing surfactant levels in laundry wastewater with variations in the voltage used were 20 V, 30 V, 40 V, and 60 V. The results showed that the electrocoagulation process could remove surfactants in laundry wastewater. A voltage of 30 volts with Al-Al electrode configuration was used for 30 minutes to obtain optimum conditions so that it will get a surfactant effluent concentration of 5.77 mg/L with a removal efficiency of 72.89%.

Identification, removal of microplastics and surfactants from laundry wastewater using electrocoagulation method

“…The majority of laundry effluent enters the wastewater treatment facility directly via municipal wastewater piping, which, if reused after treatment, can conserve water resources. Laundry activities generate a large amount of wastewater high in lint, dye, oils, fats, suspended particles, surfactants, and microplastics (MPs) [3][4][5] . Surfactants and MPs are two common contaminants in laundry effluent that can affect the ecosystem.…”

“…Several literatures on the treatment of laundry wastewater based on various methodologies have been reported. The most often used methods include adsorption, chemical coagulation, biological, membrane filtration, electrocoagulation, floatation, and sand filtration or a combination of these techniques [4,17,[19][20][21][22] . In spite of satisfactory results, each process has its own drawbacks.…”

“…The finding indicated that 96.5% of MPs were removed using the aluminum electrode from electrocoagulation. Oktiawan et al (2021), the study focused on the removal of surfactants using electrocoagulation [5] . Study results revealed that the efficiency of removal of surfactants was higher in aluminum electrodes compared to iron electrodes.…”