Analysis of input current profiles in an electroflocculation process for industrial wastewater treatment

This paper focuses on the simulation of an electroflocculation process applied in the treatment of wastewater with high organic load. This method was selected since it allows the water to be treated in short time and it is possible to reach a water quality to meet the national standard requirements. Based on reported studies, a model of the type variable order kinetic (VOK) is deduced for chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal by electroflocculation. The model is developed from the Langmuir-Freundlich equation to determine the kinetics of the COD removal. Aluminum and iron plates are considered as work electrodes. Several simulations are done in order to evaluate different input current profiles. The obtained results show that a decreasing ramp on input current improves the process performances. (C) 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.