Development of an electrocoagulation method using alternating pulse current to treat wastewater generated by tanneries

Electrocoagulation has several disadvantages, such as electrode passivation, generation of heat due to energy consumption, and significant sludge formation. The constraints restrict its application in the treatment of tannery effluent. Therefore, the introduction of alternating pulse current electrocoagulation (APC-EC) aimed to resolve these concerns. We conducted an empirical examination of the research, specifically focusing on the frequency and stirring speed. This study investigated the impact of different parameters on the effectiveness of removing chemical oxygen demand (COD), the turbidity of trivalent chromium, and the energy consumption of perforated aluminium (Al) electrodes. The implementation of the central composite design (CCD) within the surface response design technique has enhanced multiple operational parameters in the APC-EC process for the treatment of tannery effluent. By employing our advanced mathematical and statistical techniques, we successfully eliminated the highest levels of COD, chromium (III) ion, and turbidity, all while significantly reducing energy usage. As a result, we achieved the optimal conditions for our process. The components that were eliminated most rapidly at 11000 Hz, 576 rpm, and 30 minutes were COD (70.3%), turbidity (96%), and 89.56%. The surface response results provide a description of the frequency dynamics of APC-EC.