nd

Proceedings of the 2 International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL OF CIVIL
17 19, JulyENGINEERING
2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India
AND TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET)

IJCIET

ISSN 0976 6308 (Print)

ISSN 0976 6316(Online)
Volume 5, Issue 9, September (2014), pp. 85-89
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IAEME

ELECTROCHEMICAL TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY IN BIODIGESTER

EFFLUENT TREATMENT (BDE)
Shruthi. M1,

Lokesh K. S2,

Krishna B. M3

(Research Scholar, Department of Environmental Engineering, SJCE, Mysore, India)

(Professor and Head, Department of Environmental Engineering, SJCE, Mysore, India)
3
(Associated Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering, SJCE, Mysore, India)
2

ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to explore the extent of mineralization of Biodigester Effluent
(BDE) by Electrochemical Treatment using aluminum electrodes in monopolar configuration. The
benefit of determining a COD/TOC ratio is becoming evident. While both parameters are useful
independently, the ratio of the two values, and the fluctuation of this ratio, is an excellent indicator of
the organic loading and the overall health of an individual treatment process, or the system as a
whole. The batch experimental results showed TOC removal was found to be 38.29% with
corresponding COD/TOC ratio was decreased from 3.64 to 0.91 at higher current density 0.03 A cm2 at 140 min of ET. Reduction in COD/TOC ratio during oxidation indicates increase in oxidation
state of carbon atoms and higher mineralization. Thus all these parameters indicate the suitability of
the treated effluent for further biological treatment process.
Keywords: Bio-Digester Effluent, Electrochemical Treatment; Aluminum Electrode; COD/TOC
Ratio.
I. INTRODUCTION
Alcohol distilleries are a major agro-based industry in India with around 300 units located
mainly in rural, sugarcane growing regions. India is the second largest producer of ethanol in Asia
with projected annual production of about 2300 million liters in 2006-2007. For every liter of
alcohol production, about 1214 L of wastewater is being discharged, which affect the soil and
groundwater resources of the region. The effluent from primary anaerobic digester is either slowly
biodegradable or resistant to biological treatment and it is termed as Biodigester Effluent (BDE).
After primary anaerobic digestion, the BOD5/COD ratio of treated spent wash is in the range
0.1 0.3.

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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India

Conventional methods dealing with the treatment of distillery effluents consist of various
combinations of biological, chemical and physical methods. Several methods viz., filtration using
variety of filters, coagulation by added chemicals, reverse osmosis, adsorption, ion exchange
process, dissolved air flotation method etc., are available for treating distillery effluents. Many of
these methods are using more quantity of water and they are either pollutant specific, less efficient
and more expensive than simple discharge without any effluent treatment. Hence, these methods
become obsolete and new methods need to be sought.
Electrochemical treatment has been attracted great attention in treating industrial wastewater
because of its the versatility and environmental compatibility. Electrochemical treatment is widely
used to treat different industrial effluents such as pulp and paper [1], textile [2], tannery [3] and
pharmaceuticals [4]. It is also reported that electrolytically added aluminum ions are more active
than chemically added aluminum ions. Therefore, to enhance the efficiency of biological processes
for industrial wastewater treatment; an effective pretreatment process is always in demand to destroy
the recalcitrant substances. Hence novel electrochemical oxidation technique for mineralization of
high strength distillery wastewater i.e BDE is studied and discussed in this research paper.
II. PRINCIPLES
TECHNOLOGIES

OF

ELECTROCHEMICAL

WATER

AND

WASTEWATER

Electrocoagulation(EC) is based on the insitu formation of the coagulant as the sacrificial

anode corrodes due to an applied current, while the simultaneous evolution of H2 gas at the cathode
allows for pollutant removal by flotation. The mechanism of EC dependents on the chemistry of
aqueous medium, especially conductivity. Main reaction occurring
At the anode is
Al
Al 3+ + 3 e-

(1)

At cathode
3H2O +3 e-
3/2 H2 + 3 OH-

(2)

Al 3+ and OH- ions generated at electrode surface reaction the bulk wastewater to form aluminum
hydroxide
Al3+ + 3 OH-
Al (OH)3

(3)

Aluminum hydroxide flocs acts as adsorbents and traps the metal ions and eliminate them
from the solution. Furthermore, a direct electrochemical reduction may occur at the cathode surface.
Simultaneously, the hydroxyl ions which are produced at the cathode increase the pH in the
electrolyte and may induce co precipitation of ions in the form of their corresponding hydroxides.
This acts synergistically to remove pollutants from waste water [5].
III. EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY
The anaerobically treated Distillery Effluent also called as Biodigester effluent (BDE) was
collected from outlet of anaerobic digester from nearby Distillery Treatment Plant. Electrochemical
reactor employed in the study had a circular shape with the following dimensions; an inner diameter
of 11.1 cm and a height of 14.8 cm, with a liquid volume of 1 liter. The aluminum plates of size
5cm X 5cm were used as both anode and cathode electrode. The electrode plates were cleaned
manually by abrasion with sand paper and treated with 15% HCl for cleaning followed by washing
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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India

with distilled water prior to their use. The anode and cathode were positioned vertically and parallel
to each other with an fixed inter electrode gap of 1cm. A direct current dual power supply unit
(Testronix 35D, India; 0-10A, 0-15 V) was used as power source to supply and maintain current
and voltage across the electrode system by means of copper wires. The reactor content was kept
under completed mixed condition facilitated by means of a magnetic stirrer to avoid concentration
gradients. To follow the progress of the treatment, samples were periodically withdrawn from the
reactor, then filtered and analyzed for COD (chemical Oxygen Demand), BOD (Bio Chemical
Oxygen Demand) and TOC along with other parameters.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Effect of Electrolysis Duration on Mineralisation
The batch study was conducted with a working volume of the reactor of about 1000 ml.
Aluminum electrode of surface area 25cm2 were used as anode and cathode material. The initial set
of experiments was conducted at the existing wastewater pH 8.19. Removal of Total Organic Carbon
(TOC) is also of great importance during the electrochemical degradation of wastewater containing
organic pollutants, because it indicates the extent of mineralization [6]. The removal of TOC
followed a more gradual removal of organic compounds, which may increase with increasing time of
electrolysis. This trend is expected based on the greater ability of the anodic electrocatalytic surface
sites to mineralize or atleast partially oxidize, difficult-to oxidize organic compounds to CO2. Though
the removal of TOC was less, it was observed that the COD/TOC ratio decreased during the course
of electrolysis. It has to be noted that the maximum reduction in this ratio were observed for the
optimum ET (Electrolysis Time) of 140. Maximum decrease in COD/TOC ratio from 2.48 to 2.77, in
140 min of ET and with 63.58% TOC removal. Literature reports have shown reduction of this ratio
from 2.3 to 0.25 [7] and from 3.3 to 1.7 [8]. The COD/TOC ratio also places an important role in
biodegradation organic compounds; it indicates the extent of mineralization.
4.5
4

70

3.5

50

40

2.5

30

2
1.5

20
10

TOC

COD/TOC ratio

0.5

COD/TOC ratio

% TOC Removal

60

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Electrolysis Time, min

Fig 1: Effect of Electrolysis duration on TOC removal and COD / TOC ratio
From the Fig 1, the COD/TOC ratio decreased from 2.48 to 2.12 at the end of 180 min of
treatment. Hence we notice that the mineralization is a slow process, we also notice that there was a
fluctuations in COD/TOC ratio, this was due to the intermediate compounds formed during the
Electrochemical Coagulation Treatment (ECT) also which are already present in raw effluent. Thus
from ECT an optimum of 53% of COD was removed at existing wastewater pH with increase in
biodegradability and the extent of mineralization was found to be effective at 140 min of ET.

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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India

4.2 Effect of Current Density (CD) on Mineralisation

Current density, being a predominant parameter, is found to influence the treatment
efficiency of the electrochemical degradation processes. To study the effect of varying current
density on % TOC removal and COD/TOC ratio experiments were carried out at 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03
A cm-2. Based on previous experiments 140 minutes of electrolysis duration was maintained with a
constant pH of 7. Increase in current density will give rise to an increase in charge loading; by
increasing the over potential required for the generation of chlorine/hypochlorite can lead to
increased pollutant removal [6]. At higher CD, higher dissolution of electrode material occurs
generating higher rate of formation of aluminum hydroxides results in the higher COD removal
efficiency due to co-precipitation. when the CD increases, the efficiency of ion production on the
anode and the cathode increases resulting in color removal . This may be due to the oxidation of
organics by surface oxygen present in anode material apart from the indirect method of oxidation
proposed for the effluent
60
0.01Acm-2
0.03Acm-2

50

0.02Acm-2

% TOC Removal

40
30
20
10
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Electrolysis Time, min

(a)

COD/TOC ratio

6
0.01Acm-2
0.03Acm-2

0.02Acm-2

4
3
2
1
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Electrolysis Time,min

(b)
Fig 2: (a) and (b) Effect of Current Density on TOC removal and COD / TOC ratio
The physisorbed hydroxyl radicals oxidize the organics to carbon dioxide. TOC removal was
found to be 38.29% with COD/TOC ratio was decreased from 3.64 to 0.91 at higher CD 0.03 A cm-2
is shown in the Fig 2(a) and (b). Reduction in COD/TOC ratio during oxidation indicates increase in
oxidation state of carbon atoms and higher mineralization. Thus all these parameters indicate the
suitability of the treated effluent for further biological treatment process.
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Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Current Trends in Engineering and Management ICCTEM -2014
17 19, July 2014, Mysore, Karnataka, India

V. CONCLUSION
With the research presented in this paper, treatment of Biodigester effluent, which has highstrength organic matters by electrochemical treatment method using aluminum electrode was found
successful for the pretreatment of BDE. Optimum working conditions determined are as follows:
current density of 0.03 A/cm2, pH 7 at 140min the COD removal was 85% Finally after treatment the
same was analysed for checking the conversion of nonbiodegradable components to biodegradable
components which indicated by the increase in the BOD3/COD ratio was 0.64 and color removal was
93% with COD/TOC reduction from 3.64 to 0.91 indicating increase in oxidation state of carbon
atoms and higher mineralization. Thus Electrochemical treatment proved to be more efficient and
effective in mineralization of refractory organics.
VI. REFERENCES
[1]
[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

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