Abstract
In this study, palm oil mill effluent (POME) was treated using electrocoagulation, whereby the influencing factors including voltage, electrolysis time, and electrolyte amount were optimized to achieve the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal efficiencies. Graphite was selected as electrode material due to its performance better compared to aluminum and copper. Response surface methodology (RSM) was carried out for optimization of the electrocoagulation operating parameters. The best model obtained using Box-Behnken design (BBD) were quadratic for COD removal (R2 = 0.9844), color reduction (R2 = 0.9412), and oil and grease removal (R2 = 0.9724). The result from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was obtained to determine the relationship between factors and treatment efficiencies. The experimental results under optimized conditions such as voltage 14, electrolysis time of 3 h, and electrolyte amount of 13.41 g/L show that the electrocoagulation process effectively reduced the COD (56%), color (65%), and oil and grease (99%) of the POME treatment.
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Abbreviations
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- BBD:
-
Box-Behnken design
- BOD:
-
Biological oxygen demand
- COD:
-
Chemical oxygen demand
- CV:
-
Coefficient variance
- DC:
-
Direct current
- GDP:
-
Gross domestic product
- HRT:
-
Hydraulic retention time
- MFC:
-
Microbial fuel cell
- OOMW:
-
Olive oil mill wastewater
- POME:
-
Palm oil mill effluent
- RSM:
-
Response surface methodology
- Al:
-
Aluminum
- Cu:
-
Copper
- Fe:
-
Iron
- KNO3 :
-
Potassium nitrate
- NaCl:
-
Sodium chloride
- Na2SO4 :
-
Sodium sulfate
- NaNO3 :
-
Sodium nitrate
- NH4Cl:
-
Ammonium chloride
- g:
-
Gram
- kg:
-
Kilogram
- kW:
-
Kilowatt
- L:
-
Liter
- Mt:
-
Megatonne
- mL:
-
Milliliter
- mg:
-
Milligram
- m3 :
-
Cubic meter
- °C:
-
Celcius (Temperature)
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the sponsorship from Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (No.4J284), and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) for providing funding for this research under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS No.5F167) and Collaborative Education Program for Sustainable Environmental Engineering Network (CEP-SEEN No. 4B403). In addition, the second author is thankful to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) for the postdoctoral fellow (teaching and learning) Scheme under MJIIT-UTM.
Funding
This study was supported by Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (No.4J284), and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS No.4F167).
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Conceptualization, RR, HK, MAY, FFAQ, LDAP; methodology, RR, AP, FAR, and HK; investigation, RR, MAY in the field; formal analysis, RR, HK, and LDAP; writing, RR, HK, MAY, FFAQ; and supervision, AY and LDAP.
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Highlight
• Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a major contributor to wastewater which is highly toxic, and untreated final discharge of POME can harm environments.
• The electrocoagulation process can be used to treat POME as an alternative method.
• An effective combination electrode material was selected from different types of electrode materials.
• The effect of operating parameters including electrolysis time, voltage, and electrolyte support was investigated and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM).
• Under optimum condition, electrocoagulation effectively reduced the chemical oxygen demand (COD), color intensities, and oil and grease content.
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Rakhmania, Kamyab, H., Yuzir, M.A. et al. Application of Box-Behnken design to mineralization and color removal of palm oil mill effluent by electrocoagulation process. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 71741–71753 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16197-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16197-z