Optimization of Electrochemical Treatment Process Conditions for Distillery Effluent Using Response Surface...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Electrochemistry

Background:

• The distillery industry generates significant polluting effluent in India.
• Distillery spent wash poses environmental challenges due to high color and chemical oxygen demand (COD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize electrochemical treatment process variables for decolorization and COD removal from distillery spent wash.
• To investigate the effectiveness of indirect electrochemical oxidation using a Ti/Pt anode.

Main Methods:

• Response surface methodology (RSM) with Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed for optimization.
• Key process variables optimized included pH, current density, electrolysis time, and electrolyte (NaCl) concentration.
• Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal efficiencies were the primary response variables.

Main Results:

• The electrochemical treatment process achieved high removal efficiencies: 89.5% for COD and 95.1% for color.
• Optimal conditions were determined as pH 4.12, current density 25.02 mA/cm², electrolysis time 103.27 min, and NaCl concentration 1.67 g/L.

Conclusions:

• Electrochemical treatment is a viable and effective method for treating distillery spent wash.
• Optimization using RSM and BBD successfully identified conditions for maximum pollutant removal.