Effects of electric voltage and number of aluminum electrodes on continuous electrocoagulation of liquid waste from the palm oil industry
Idral Amri, Zuqni Meldha, Syamsu Herman, Della Karmila, Mhd. Fadilah Ramadani, Nirwana Nirwana
Abstract
When oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) are processed into crude palm oil, waste in the form of water, oil, and organic materials is produced. This sort of waste is known as palm oil mill effluent (POME). POME can cause environmental disasters because they are dumped in open ponds or water bodies such as rivers, swamps, and lakes, releasing large amounts of methane gas and other harmful gases that will cause the greenhouse effect. To avoid the problems caused, one of them is the electrocoagulation process using a continuous reactor. This study's goal was to ascertain how to employ the electrocoagulation technique to lower COD and TSS concentrations in POME and to ascertain the impact of electrical voltage and the number of aluminum electrodes on the proportion of COD and TSS removal in the liquid waste from the palm oil sector. Tested parameters include COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and TSS (Total Suspended Solid). The electrocoagulation process used electrical power that flows through the electrodes. The power supply was wired to the electrocoagulation reactor's aluminum electrodes, which were then connected to an electric current with changes in electrical voltage (18; 20; and 24 V) and changes in the number of electrodes (11; 13; and 15 electrodes). The removal of COD and TSS increases with increasing voltage and electrode number. The best conditions in this study were obtained at 24 V and 15 electrodes, resulting in a 91% reduction in COD from 3,000 mg/L to 270 mg/L, whereas TSS was reduced by 90%, from 1,220 mg/L to 120 mg/L. The study's results have fulfilled the Minister of Environment Regulation No. 5 of 2014′s quality requirements.