The Investigation of Electrocoagulation Method for Removing Zinc and Chromium from Electroplating Industry Wastewater

Electroplating wastewater generally contains high concentrations of heavy metals. This study used the electrocoagulation (EC) method with iron (Fe) electrodes to remove two heavy elements (Cr and Zn) from actual electroplating effluent at the same time. The effect of EC time and wastewater pH on removal performance was investigated. It was determined that optimum Cr and Zn removal occurred at a pH of 9 and after 30 minutes. It was discovered that the removal rates for Zn and Cr were 79% and 99%, respectively. The elimination of these heavy metal ions was compatible with a pseudo-first-order model, according to kinetic investigations. The removal of electroplating wastewater by the EC method occurs with low energy consumption, making the process economically viable and scalable. In the EC experiments using Fe electrodes, the electrode consumption was found to be 1.07 kg/m³, and the energy consumed was 25 kWh/m³.