Treatability of Tannery Wastewater by Electrocoagulation Process

This study investigated the treatability of tannery industry wastewater by electrocoagulation (EC). The wastewater sample was taken from a leather factory of Mixed Organized Industrial District in Bor-Niğde, Turkey. Treatment of the wastewater was carried out by an electrochemical batch reactor equipped with aluminum electrodes, which were connected parallel to each other. In the EC of the wastewater, the effects of pH, current density and electrolysis time were examined. The optimum operating conditions were determined and applied to the process. The optimum current density for removal of COD and TSS in the tannery wastewater were 18.9 mA/cm2 and 22.7 mA/cm2 at 20 min electrolysis time and pH 6, respectively. The obtained results indicate that EC reactor is the applicable option to treat tannery industry wastewater in terms of removal efficiency and operating cost.