Experimental Studies on Electrochemical and Photo Oxidation of Effluent Containing Ethyl Benzene and Optimization Using RSM

Abstract

In order to degrade the synthetic effluent containing ethyl benzene, comparative studies were carried out on electrochemical and photo oxidation processes. The galvanostatic mode of electrochemical oxidation was carried out with lead oxide as anode and stainless steel plate as cathode in the presence of 2 g/L of NaCl as a supporting electrolyte. The technique of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the process which results in 73.42% COD removal. The optimum conditions were satisfied at current density 1.82 A/dm2, time 2 hrs, flow rate 10 L/hr, and volume 3.63 L occurring with a minimum power consumption of 15 Kw.hr/kg COD. It was followed by the photo oxidation process carried out in the presence of Ultra Violet radiation emitted from Ultra Violet source. From this study, the percentage of COD reduction and Biodegradability Index was found to be a maximum of 98.42 % and 0.712 respectively. The optimized irradiation time was 45 minutes for pretreated effluent. This combined method appears to be a promising technology and has budding application for ecological remediation.