treatment of oily wastewater from port waste reception facilities by electrocoagulation

the present study investigated oil/water demulsification and treatment of oily wastewater originated from port waste reception facilities by electro coagulation using aluminum electrodes in a batch reactor. the efficiency of al electrodes in removing ss, cod, and oil & grease from wastewater with different current densities and operational times were investigated. the characteristics of the wastewater vary in a wide range e.g. ss 13.3–660 mg/l, cod 240–2783 mg/l, and oil & grease 6.5–736 mg/l. the results of the study indicated that the ss, cod, and oil & grease can be removed effectively by ec process using al electrodes. the optimum ec time and current density for ss removal (98.8%) was determined as 5 min and 16 ma/cm2, respectively. the first 5 min of the ec process give a considerable removal of cod for all current intensities (61-90%). the optimal current density for cod removal was determined as 12 ma/cm2 with the ec time of 20 min. results indicated that oil & grease removal reached to a rate higher than 80% after ec time of 10 min for all current densities. the results demonstrated the applicability of electrocoagulation as a possible and reliable technique for the treatment of wastewater of port waste reception facilities.