Title: Treatment of actual metalworking wastewaters by coagulation combined with electrochemical oxidation

Authors: Pablo Canizares, Fabiola Martinez, Cristina Saez, Manuel A. Rodrigo

Addresses: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

Abstract: The technical and economical viability of physico-chemical treatment followed by electrochemical oxidation of two actual wastes produced in a metalworking industry has been studied. The physico-chemical process was found to be able to achieve the breakdown of the emulsions in the treatment of both effluents, although it requires a complementary treatment to deal with the soluble organic matter. The electrochemical oxidation with Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) anodes was able to obtain the complete mineralisation of the soluble organic matter. The economic evaluation confirmed that the combination of the coagulation–flocculation with the electrochemical oxidation is viable from the economical point of view.

Keywords: metalworking waste; physico-chemical treatment; biodegradability; electrochemical oxidation; coagulation; wastewater treatment; boron-doped diamond anodes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2009.027803

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2009 Vol.1 No.3, pp.238 - 255

Published online: 11 Aug 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article