An optimization process in the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (Cod) from distillery spent wash using electrocoagulation

Electrocoagulation is a complex process with a multitude of mechanisms operating synergistically to remove pollutants from the water particularly chemical oxygen demand. in this paper,application of electrocoagulation using aluminum electrode was used to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (cod) from spent wash that can lead to extensive soil and water pollution. elimination of cod from distillery effluent is becoming increasingly important from environmental and aesthetic point of view. current density,electrode distance and initial ph,are the three operating parameters to be investigated. the present study aimed to optimize the reduction of cod using these parameters. in the sets of experiments that were done,the optimum condition for the reduction of cod has been found out. the treatment procedure was conducted using a constant electrolysis time of one hour. it has been found that spent wash treated with current density of 0.2a/cm2,distance between electrode of 1cm,and initial ph of 6 has the highest percentage of cod reduction which is 79.09%. also,the optimized parameters were validated with a percentage error of 6.9%. it can be concluded that electrocoagulation technique can be successfully employed for the treatment of distillery effluent having high cod content. © school of engineering,taylor’s university