Kinetic Study & Statistical Modelling of Sarawak Peat Water Electrocoagulation System using Copper and Aluminium Electrodes

Abstract

Due to insufficient water supply, the residents of the rural area of Sarawak are forced to use peat water as daily use for domestic water. The consumption of untreated peat water can lead to various waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, and other serious illnesses such as typhoid and dysentery. Water treatment system such as electrocoagulation system can be developed to improve the water quality of the peat water as electrocoagulation requires simple equipment that can be operated easily, no usage of chemicals coagulant, producing less sludge and cost-effective treatment system. The main aim of this study is to develop a kinetic study and statistical modelling for both batch and continuous electrocoagulation processes of peat water treatment in Sarawak using aluminium and copper electrodes. This study focuses on the peat water treatment using electrocoagulation system. The fabricated electrocoagulation system is designed according to the characteristics in which the technology for building and the material used for constructing the electrocoagulation system should be available locally, the electrocoagulation system should be easy to fabricate and maintain, as well as low cost for construction and operation. For this study, Response Surface Methodology in Minitab software and Microsoft Excel are used for kinetic studies, statistical modelling, and process optimization. Process optimization is carried out to minimize energy consumption as well as the turbidity and TSS level. The optimum conditions for batch and continuous electrocoagulation system are 14.899 A/m2 and 41.818 min, and 3.861 A/m2 and 37.778 min respectively.