Effects of operational parameters on the removal of brilliant green dye from aqueous solutions by electrocoagulation

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study on the removal of brilliant green dye from aqueous solutions in a batch stirred electrocoagulation (EC) reactor using iron electrodes. The main objectives of the experiments were to investigate the effects of the various operating parameters, such as current density, inter electrode distance, initial dye concentration, pH of the solution, EC duration and salt (NaCl) concentrations on the brilliant green dye removal efficiency from synthetic wastewater containing in batch EC process. The experimental results showed that 99.59% dye removal was observed for initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L with current density of 41.7 A/m2, initial pH of 4.0 at the end of 30 min of operation. It was observed that, an increase in current density, time of operation and decrease in inter electrode distance improved the dye removal efficiency. Optimum pH for highest dye removal was 4.0–10.0. It was also observed that increase in salt (NaCl) concentration in the solution reduces the specific electrical energy consumption (SEEC).

Keywords

• Electrocoagulation
• Brilliant green dye
• Iron electrode
• Specific electrical energy consumption
• Current density