Decolorization of disperse and reactive dyes by continuous electrocoagulation process

The electrocoagulation process was developed to overcome the drawbacks of conventional wastewater treatment technologies. This process is very effective in removing organic pollutants including dyestuff wastewater and allows for the reduction of sludge generation. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the operating parameters, such as current density, electrode number, electrolyte concentration, electrode gap, dyestuff concentration, pH of solution and inlet flow rate, on decolorization by continuous electrocoagulation. The dye removal efficiencies and reaction rate constants from the curves following the first-order relationship of electrocoagulation were calculated. In addition, from the points of power consumption, the effects of the operating parameters were also searched. Finally, the behaviors of decolorization according to dyestuff types, i.e., disperse dye and reactive dye, were also examined.