Electrochemical Treatment of Reactive Black 5 Textile Wastewater: Optimization, Kinetics, and Disposal Study: Research Article

This research reports treatment of textile wastewater containing Reactive Black 5 (RB5) and other industrial constituents which are found in textile industry effluent, by the electrochemical treatment method using aluminum electrodes. Initial pH, current density ( J ), and electrolysis time ( t ) were selected as operational variables to observe the effects on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency ( Y 1 ), dye removal efficiency ( Y 2 ), and specific energy consumed ( Y 3 ) (kWh/kg of COD removed). A response surface methodology (RSM) with full factorial central composite design (CCD) was used for designing and optimizing responses. To optimize the multiple responses, multi‐response optimization with a desirability function were utilized for maximizing Y 1 and Y 2 , and simultaneously minimizing Y 3 . To address issues of treated wastewater disposal, aluminum mass balance was performed. Electrocoagulation with subsequent adsorption, electrofloatation, and electro‐oxidation were found to be the mechanism for removal of the pollutants.