ELECTROCOAGULATION FOR OIL-WATER EMULSION TREATMENT

An attempt has been made to remove oil from synthetic and actual oily wastes by an electrochemical method using either iron or aluminum reac tors. The effects of applied potential i.e direct current, reactor mat erial and polarization, and amount of ferric sulfate using as supporti ng electrolyte and coagulant, on percent removal and energy consumptio n have been examined for different initial oil concentrations. The rem oval efficiency has been found to be as high as 100% for all experimen ts depending on the duration of treatment for different applied potent ials and ferric sulfate concentrations. The polarity of the electrodes played an important role in the treatment of oily wastewater. Actual wastewater samples from two different industrial plants have also been treated in the same reactor and fully removal of oil has been achieve d.