Electrocoagulation treatment of swine slaughterhouse wastewater: effect of electrode material

Abstract

A slaughterhouse is one of the main sources of wastes in meat establishments where animals are killed for consumption as food products. Slaughtering animal processing industries generate a large volume of wastewaters containing very high concentrations of organic matter. In this study, the effect of various electrode materials on the electrocoagulation efficiency was investigated for the treatment of swine slaughterhouse wastewater. These electrodes include pure aluminum (Al), pure iron (Fe) and combination of aluminum – iron (Al – Fe). The performance of these electrodes was investigated in terms of electrocoagulation time, COD removal, electrode consumption, and current density. Additional parameters were also checked before and after treatment such as conductivity, turbidity, BOD, oil and grease, TSS and settleable solids. All electrodes gave more than 90% COD removal however, the pure aluminum electrode is the most efficient (97% removal). It also gave the least electrode consumption. Furthermore, the most efficient current density and time were found to be 25mA/cm2 and 100 minutes respectively. Overall the electrocoagulation treatment of swine slaughterhouse wastewater was successful in terms of reduction of all the parameters considered.