Removal of dye stuffs from waste water : electrocoagulation of Acilan Blau using soluble anode

Abstract An attempt was made to remove a dye such as Acilan Blau using an electrochemical method. In the process a bipolar packed bed electrochemical reactor consisting of soluble electrodes was used and operated in the batch mode. Effects of several factors on the removal rate have been examined such as pH, presence of supporting electrolyte, duration of electrolysis, initial dye concentration and applied potential. Energy consumption was calculated and shown as the function of applied potential. Removal rate of 100% was practically achieved in a very short time with synthetic solutions. Additionally, samples of waste water taken from the operating line of a local textile plant have also been treated in the reactor. Complete removal of the dyes(98–100%) from these solutions have been achieved with a maximum power consumption of 2.24 k Whm−3.