Electrocoagulation process as an alternative treatment of petroleum industry liquid waste and renewable energy sources

Abstract

Industrial wastewater treatment technology that is environmentally friendly and renewable energy are two critical issues that have not been resolved. Electrocoagulation technology offers a liquid waste treatment process that simultaneously produces hydrogen gas as a renewable alternative energy source. In this study, an attempt was made to observe the ability of the electrocoagulation process to remove pollutants from the wastewater of the petroleum industry, which is represented by a phenol solution. Meanwhile, electrocoagulation also produces hydrogen gas along the process. Based on observations solution's pH, voltage and processing time, it was found that the optimal conditions for processing liquid waste containing phenol were obtained by using voltages of 20 volts in a waste solution with a pH 10. The process was carried out within 3 hours. The obtained phenol removed 22 % and hydrogen gas as much as 123.31 mmol/m2 at the end of the process. The development of this process is considered quite intriguing to utilize wastewater treatment as a new renewable energy source.