Physicochemical study of dye removal using electro-coagulation-flotation process

The performance of electro-flotation with aluminum electrodes for the removal of different dyes from synthetic aqueous solutions and real wastewater was studied. Parameters affecting the electro-coagulation-flotation process, such as pH, initial dye concentration, treatment time and temperature were investigated. The maximum dye removal from synthetic solutions was achieved at pH 7. The order of the dye removals is nonionic>cationic>anionic. The removal process follows pseudo first-order kinetics and the adsorption follows both physical and chemical adsorptions which is exothermic. Negative values of entropy change, ΔS°, and Gibbs free energy change, ΔG°, indicate that this adsorption process is spontaneous and less favorable at high temperatures. Treatment of a real wastewater from textile dyeing factory showed that the removal efficiency was ranging between 92-99% for all constituents. The energy consumption is 0.0167 kWh/dm3.