Techno-economical evaluation of electrocoagulation for the textile wastewater using different electrode connections

Moreover, process economy is as important as removal efficiencies during the process evaluation task. Various direct and indirect cost items including electrical, sacrificial electrodes, labor, sludge handling, maintenance and depreciation costs have been considered in the calculation of the total cost. The results show that MP-P mode is the most cost-effective for both electrode types. Both electrodes show similar results in reducing COD and turbidity, but iron is preferred as a low cost material. Finally, a comparative study showed that EC was faster and more economic; consumed less material and produced less sludge, and pH of the medium was more stabilized than chemical coagulation (CC) for similar COD and turbidity removal levels. For CC, FeCl3 was the preferable salt in view of its techno-economic performance. On the other hand, iron was the preferred electrode material in EC with MP-P system in experimental conditions such as, 30 A m−2 of current density and 15 min of time, the treatment cost was $ 0.245 m−3. Consequently, the operating cost of CC was 3.2 times as high as the operating cost of EC.