Treatment of Rice Mill Wastewater Using Continuous Electrocoagulation Technique: Optimization and Modelling

Removal of COD and TSS from rice mill wastewater was investigated using continuous electrocoagulation method (CEC). The electrical energy consumption (EEC) of the process was also examined in order to evaluate the economic viability. The Box-Behnken statistical experiment design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to investigate the effects of major operating variables. Initial pH, current density, electrode distance and flow rate were selected as independent variables in BBD while COD removal, TSS removal and EEC were considered as the response functions. The predicted values of responses obtained using the response function was in good agreement with the experimental data. Optimum operating conditions were found to be pH of 7, current density of 15 mA $cm^{-2}$, electrode distance of 5 cm and flow rate of 70 ml/min. Under these conditions, greater than 89% removal of COD and TSS were obtained with EEC value of 7 KWh.