Optimization of Grey Water Characteristics Using Electrocoagulation and Response Surface Methodology

Water crisis restricts availability to safe water, due to unsustainable practices leading to excessive aquifer consumption. In this study, the Grey water was collected from household kitchen sink and was treated by Electro-coagulation (EC) (60 A/m2) method using aluminium (Al), copper (Cu), stainless steel (SS) electrodes along with banana bract activated through three different agents (H3PO4, CaCo3, KOH) as adsorbent by varying the operating parameters (time, electrode and activation agent). Initial characteristics of Grey water were determined using experimental methods. The surface response design is based on Box-Behnken which has been used to optimize parameters by quadratic model, with independent variables assessed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Cu-Cu electrode with CaCo3 adsorbent (0.5g dosage) at 60 minutes of contact time exhibited higher efficiency of 82% achieved under optimum parametric conditions. With Response Surface Methodology (RSM) the wastage of water to find the suitable adsorbent and contact time has been reduced with minimal runs. This study shows that the EC process along with RSM is an effective tool to improve characteristics of Grey water under different operating parameters.