Experimental study and mathematical model of coagulation/sedimentation units for treatment of food processing wastewater

Abstract

A model for coagulation/sedimentation was developed; based on experimental observations to investigate the removal of COD and TSS from the food processing wastewater. The experimental study was conducted using three coagulants: ferric chloride, ferrous sulfate, and aluminum sulfate. The wastewater samples were collected from an industrial food processing unit. Ferrous sulfate and aluminum sulfate are more efficient coagulants compared to ferric chloride. The removal efficiency of COD and TSS using alum were 79% and 92%, respectively. The removal efficiency of COD and TSS using FeCl3 were 73% and 93%, respectively. The removal efficiency of COD and TSS using ferrous sulfate were 79% and 93%, respectively.An empirical model was developed to evaluate the removal efficiency of the system. Different equations were developed for each coagulant. The model parameters were optimized using experimental observations. Statistical analysis indicated that the developed model can describe the experimental data accurately. The coefficient of determination (R2) values shows that the model can represent the experimental data with reasonable accuracy.

Keywords

• Coagulation
• Sedimentation
• Wastewater
• Mathematical modeling