Ammonia, oil and grease, and COD reduction of septage wastewater via electrocoagulation using black iron electrodes

Abstract

Septage wastewater is one of the highly problematic wastewaters due to the large oil and grease content and a pungent odor due to high ammonia content. These contaminants pose an environmental threat especially when discharged to the bodies of water. Electrocoagulation (EC) has been reported in several papers as an effective method for various contaminants but no report has been found on septage wastewater being treated with EC. Thus, this study considered EC for the removal of ammonia, oil and grease, total suspended solids (TSS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The treatment made use of black iron electrode and pollutant removal was monitored through time. Maximum removal was obtained after 60 minutes of treatment wherein ammonia was reduced to 97.79%, TSS to 95.83%, oil and grease to 85.20%, and COD to 54.67%. As a preliminary study, these results were promising for septage wastewater treatment using electrocoagulation.