Technical Papers
Aug 21, 2019

Removal of Oil and Grease from Produced Water Using Electrocoagulation

Publication: Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 24, Issue 1

Abstract

A method to remove oil and grease (O&G) from synthetically produced water using electrocoagulation in a batch process with a mild steel anode is proposed. Preliminary studies were conducted to explore the effects of operating parameters on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and O&G removal. Individual and interactive influences of causal variables were investigated using a response surface methodology. The experimental results indicated that electrocoagulation is very effective in pollutant removal and could successfully reduce COD and O&G to 99.7% and 96.43%, respectively, from an influent oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion concentration of 1,250±50  mg/L under optimal operating conditions. A notable observation was made on the contribution of the electrooxidative mechanism in COD and O&G removal. It was found that removal due to the oxidative mechanism was increased with increases in current density and salt composition. The methodology is very suitable for the treatment of water produced from offshore basins in particular due to the higher rate of operation and smaller amount of sludge compared with conventional biological treatment and to the presence of supporting electrolyte in situ.

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Data Availability Statement

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Centre for Engineering Research and Development (CERD), APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (Grant No. KTU/RESEARCH 3/1511/2015).

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Go to Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste
Volume 24Issue 1January 2020

History

Received: Jan 29, 2019
Accepted: Jun 7, 2019
Published online: Aug 21, 2019
Published in print: Jan 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 21, 2020

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A. M. Manilal
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Government Engineering College Kozhikode, Calicut, Kerala 673005, India.
P. A. Soloman [email protected]
Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Government Engineering College Thrissur, Thrissur, Kerala 680009, India (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]
C. Ahmed Basha
Retired Director, Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, Tamilnadu 630006, India.

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