Batch leachate treatment using stirred electrocoagulation reactor with variation of residence time and stirring rate

Abstract

This study aims to reduce pollutant levels of the leachate by electrocoagulation method using a stirred electrocoagulation reactor as the electrochemical water treatment. The release of active coagulants as metallic ions took place in the anode, while in the cathode, the electrolysis reaction in the form of hydrogen gas dischargeoccurred. The source of wastewater is Waste Water Treatment Plant inlet III of Bantar Gebang, Bekasi. Some parameters were analyzed in this research, i.e., Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), NH3, NO3-, NO2-, N-total, and organic substances as well as the microorganism growth before and after electrocoagulation, with variations of detention time (seconds) of 10, 20, 120, 600 and rapid mixing conditions (rpm) of 60, 100 and 200. The results show that the greater the rapid mixing speed and the detention time of electrolysis, the higher the removal of contaminants in liquid waste. The optimum condition of electrocoagulation was encountered at 200 rpm rapid mixing with 600 seconds of processing time. The removal efficiencies of electrocoagulation method for each parameter are TSS of 46.80%, BOD5 of 71.33%, COD of 73.77%, Pb of 62.5%,and NH3-N of 57.92%,whereas the pH value has been increased from 8.03 to 8.95. The electrocoagulation method can reduce levels of pollutants, complying with the environmental standards.