Removal of TOC from oily wastewater by electrocoagulation technology

Abstract

The present study aims to employ an electrocoagulation reactor containing concentric-aluminum-tubes as electrodes for total organic carbon (TOC) removal from real oily wastewater released from drilling sites located in West Qurna-Iraq. Applied current ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 Amps and contact time ranges from 10 to 40 min had selected as the operational variables. Response surface methodology (RSM) type central composite design (CCD) and MINITAB-statistical soft program had performed to design experiments and analysis of the obtained results. The results showed significant removal of TOC (83.91%) at the optimal values of the operational parameters (1.606 Amps and 40 min). Moreover, the present design of the electrocoagulation reactor was more reliable and cost-effective that could be used in practice efficiently.