Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

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Journal of Water Process Engineering

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Electrocoagulation/electroflotation as a combined process for the laundry T

wastewater purification and reuse
⁎
A. Dimogloa, , P. Sevim-Elibola, Ö. Dinçb, K. Gökmena, H. Erdoğana
a
Department of Environmental Engineering, Duzce University, Duzce, 81620, Turkey
b
Department of Biotechnology, University of Health Sciences, 34668, Istanbul, Turkey

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The purpose of this work is to purify wastewater from industrial laundries and return them to the washing
Laundry wasterwater process. By means of the methods of electrocoagulation and electroflotation, laboratory and pilot studies on the
Electrocoagulation wastewater treatment were carried out using aluminium electrodes. The process of wastewater treatment has
Electroflotation been studied in dependence on treatment time, temperature, pH and current density. The effectiveness of the
cleaning process under different values of operating parameters of the reactor was estimated as the percentage of
color, turbidity and surfactant removal from the wastewater. As a result of laboratory studies, the optimum
values of the operating parameters of the reactor at 90% removal of contamination were the following: current
density value as 5.26 mA/cm2, pH as 5.5 and 5 min processing time. The consumption of electrical energy in this
case amounted to 1.25 kW h/ m3. The quality control of the purified water was carried out according to such
additional parameters as total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon, and the content
of metal ions and phosphate and nitrate anions in the water. The study of the wastewater treatment in a pilot
plant with laboratory values of operating parameters showed the reproducibility of the purification results for
the controlled parameters of water quality and suitability of the water for reuse. The washing performed with
purified water was estimated by the whiteness index for bed linen and was not inferior to the traditional washing
with water from a source of water supply.

1. Introduction cleaning method should be sufficient wastewater treatment (WWT)

efficiency, as well as low operational cost of the cleaning equipment, its
The widespread use of synthetic surfactants (SS) as washing, stabi- simplicity and reliability.
lizing and foaming agents, determines their presence in most types of This article discusses the electrocoagulation (EC) and electroflota-
industrial and domestic wastewater. The recent studies show a sig- tion (EF) as methods that can be applied to the treatment of wastewater
nificant effect of synthetic surfactants on all living organisms, plants from industrial laundries with the purpose of their reuse. Combined use
and humans [1,2]. When interacting with other contaminants, surfac- of these methods has shown their efficiency and cost-effectiveness in
tants contribute to the emulsification and stabilization of liquid and solving various problems related to the environment protection [8–13].
solid dispersed types of contaminants. Therefore, wastewater con- Over the past 20 years there is no such industry, whose model waste-
taining SS are characterized by a complex chemical and phase-dis- water would not have been investigated in the laboratories by elec-
persed composition, which makes it possible to treat them as a special trochemical methods in general and by EC, in particular.
type of sewage [3–7]. There was an attempt to treat and reuse laundry wastewater (LWW)
The analysis of existing technological solutions shows that the by taking various configurations of hybrid systems based on the bio-
creation of circulating water supply systems in industrial enterprises is logical treatment followed by oxidation and membrane separation
quite a difficult, but solvable task. At the same time, the creation of [14–18]. It should be noted that processes of the surfactants oxidation
closed cycle of water consumption can be hampered only by economic can be accompanied by the release of more toxic products of destruc-
reasons. The choice of purification technology is being carried out, tion. It is shown that the Photo-Fenton process proved to be tox-
based on the specific operating conditions and features of the cleaning icologically safe, in comparison with the initial solution [19]. Removal
equipment. The main criteria that ensure the selection of an appropriate of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) from model solutions of wastewater by

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Dimoglo).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2019.100877
Received 26 December 2018; Received in revised form 28 April 2019; Accepted 11 June 2019
2214-7144/ © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

EC and peroxy-electrocoagulation with the help of iron electrodes can were used. The system mainly includes EC (2) and EF (4) reactors with
be found in [20–23]. a volume of 1.5 dm3 and 3.0 dm3, respectively. The aluminum
The purpose of this work is to study the effectiveness of the WWT in еlectrodes are connected with the source of direct current (DC) (1). The
one of the industrial-type laundries alone with the possibility of the electrodes part of the EF consists of graphite anode and cathode in the
purified wastewater reuse. In this connection, the influence on the form of a steel mesh with DC source (8). The dimensions of the Al
process of WWT of such working parameters as types of electrodes electrode are 150 mm × 150 mm × 2 mm. The effective area of all the
connection, applied voltage, amount of electricity, temperature and pH anodes on both sides is 350 cm2, and the distance between electrodes is
of the solution, together with the nature of the surfactant, was con- 10 mm. The EF consists of an outer cylinder reactor with a diameter of
sidered. Additionally, the energy efficiency of the surface-active sub- 15 сm.
stances removal was calculated for the EC reactor. The LWW intended for purification is supplied to the system from
storage tank (9). The LWW enters the EC reactor through the pipe (5)
2. Materials and methods from the bottom and move upward between the electrodes (2). The
wastewater in the EC reactor unit (2) is stirred at 250 rpm by a mag-
2.1. Experimental apparatus and procedure netic stirrer (6). It enters the EF chamber from above and move
downward in the opposite direction to the evolving bubbles of gaseous
Recently, methods of electrochemical WWT are being increasingly hydrogen. Thus, the formed flocks flotate and adsorb the contaminated
used in recycling water supply processes [24]. The methods are char- particles. Purified wastewater is removed from the bottom (7) of the EF,
acterized by technological simplicity and the process continuity. Ad- and the flotation contaminants are removed from the top of it (3). The
ditional chemical reagents are not introduced into the solutions but LWW collected from Eczacibasi (Professional) company was used for all
obtained directly in the electrochemical bath, that ensures the ecolo- experimental tests. Main parameters characterizing the LWW taken
gical safety of the water purification processes [25–29]. The process is during the three-months period are presented in Table 1.
similar to the treatment of water with appropriate reagents, however,
during EC, water is not enriched with sulfates or chlorides, the content
2.2. Analytical method
of which is limited by discharging treated sewage into reservoirs or in
circulating systems. Currently, there are various designs of electro-
All chemicals used for this study were obtained from Sigma Aldrich.
coagulators [8,24]. In the present study, a plate electrode reactor was
Anionic surfactants (Methylene Blue Active Substances - MBAS) and
used.
other parameters of wastewater were measured according to Standard
As known, plate electrodes are a block of plates arranged perpen-
Methods [31,32]. Turbidity was recorded on a 2100 N IS Turbidimeter
dicularly and separated by washers in such a way that a gap exists
(Hach). Before the EC, the pH of the LWW was corrected by the addition
between adjacent plates where the flow of the solution happens in the
of HCl and NaOH, and its measurement was performed on a Thermo-
direction perpendicular to the direction the electric current flows. For
scientific pH Meter (Orion star A215). Parameters characterizing the
different pH, the electrolysis of wastewater at the anode and cathode
wastewater obtained are close by value to the data of the three-months
proceeds differently. The presence of Cl− - anions in water leads to the
monitoring of LWW. All the experiments were repeated twice, to check
release and formation of ClO- anions. Due to the release of gaseous
if the results are reproducible. The maximum experimental error was
hydrogen, flotation of solid particles including hydroxides of iron and
lower than 5%, and the average values have been reported. Each
aluminum occurs. The main limiting stage of electrocoagulation is the
measurement was repeated for three times, and the average value was
formation of metal cations. The second stage of coagulation is reduced
calculated. The MBAS, TOC and/or COD removal efficiency, Re, is
to chemical hydration of the resulting metal cations, formation of in-
calculated as:
soluble metal hydroxides, and their precipitation (crystallization), fol-
lowed by the formation of flakes, which can adsorb coarse impurities of Re (%) = [(Ci – Cj) / Ci] x 100, (1)
the wastewater.
Where Ci (mg/L) is initial MBAS, TOC or COD concentration, and Cj is
The process of coagulation in the electrocoagulators proceeds much
the corresponding final concentration.
more intensively than with chemical reagents. This can be explained by
positive influence of electrophoresis on the mutual coarsening of the
nuclei of the metal hydroxide particles and by that the water is being 3. Results and discussion
mixed by hydrogen bubbles released at the surface of cathodes. The use
of EC can reduce the metal doses required for the purification by 20–40 3.1. Optimization of the EC reactor
%, compared with the doses of chemical reagents. Although Al(OH)3
produced as the result of anodic aluminum dissolution is thought more The effect of different factors, such as current density, the amount of
active as to the coagulation of pollutants in wastewater, the aluminum electricity, and operation time, on the temperature of the wastewater
anodes passivation, together with impermeable film formed on cath- was investigated. In the laboratory scale studies, theoretical and ex-
odes, may interfere with the performance of electrocoagulation and perimental assessment of the electrodes consumption was carried out,
electroflotation [30]. and pH, colort, turbidity, suspended solids, and MBAS were analyzed.
Optimization of the LWW treatment relative to such parameters as Preliminarily the electrodes were cleaned, degreased, dried and
time, pH of the solution and current density was carried out in a sta- brought to a constant weight. Electrochemical dissolution of anodes for
tionary mode on a separate EC reactor completely identical to that each amount of electricity passed through the solution, was estimated
shown in Fig. 1. It should be emphasized that in the EC, along with the as the loss of the electrode weight. Fig. 2 shows the results of aluminum
coagulation process, flotation occurs. The data obtained in stationary yield for two different electrode connections in an electrochemical re-
mode, were applied for the continuous batch mode. The hydraulic re- actor. As independent parameter, the quantity of electricity Q (A h),
tention time of the LWW in the EC was regulated by the rate at which it which has passed through the solution, is taken. As can be seen from
entered the reactor and controlled using a flow meter. After treatment Fig. 2, with the increase in the amount of electricity, the amount of the
in the EC, water flows by gravity into the EF for additional purification formed aluminum increases as well.
of the remaining dispersed phase. The volume of the EF is twice as large At the initial stage of the solution treatment, the yield of Al3+ does
as of the EC, that doubles the flotation time. The continuous batch not depend essentially on the connection mode of the electrodes. Thus,
mode is schematically shown in Fig. 1. for Q = 1 A h, the yield of Al3+ is 0.45 g for the monopolar connection
In the EC reactor, 7 electrodes including 4 anodes and 3 cathodes and 0.37 g for bipolar connection. For Q = 5 A h, the yield was 1.73 g.

2
A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

Fig. 1. Combined ElectroCoagulation (EC) and ElectroFlotation (EF) laboratory scale treatment system. 1-DC power apply for EC cell; 2-EC Cell; 3-Floated sladge; 4-
EF Cell; 5-Inlet LWW; 6- Magnetic bar-stirrer; 7-Purified LWW; 8- DC power apply for EF cell; 9-Feed Sludge Tank.

Table 1
Characterization of laundry wastewater (Eczacibasi company, Turkey) for
samples taken at different times and of purified LWW, compared with Water
standard for the laundry.
Parameters / January February March Purified Water
Month 2018 2018 2018 LWWa standardb

pH 11.3 11.4 11.4 5.9 6–8

Conductivity (mS/ 1.7 2.1 1.7 1.4 < 1.5
cm)
Temperature (oC) 21 20 21 20 20–25
Color (Pt-Co) 196 181 221 20 < 30
Turbidity (NTU) 626 703 669 29 < 25
TSS (mg/L) 85 74 99 3 5–25
MBAS (mg/L) 77 83 98 5.3 –
COD (mg/L) 1237 1244 1251 80 40–80
TOC (mg/L) 290 282 270 35 < 50
Alkalinity (mg 541 630 680 11 < 100
CaCO3/L)
Total Phosphate 6.2 6.4 6.9 1.9 5–10
(mg/L)
Total Iron (mg/L) 0.02 0.03 0.01 ND < 0.1 Fig. 2. The anode dissolution rate as a function of quantity of electricity Q
Total Aluminium 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.07 < 0.1 (рH = 5.5, T = 25 °C).
(mg/L)
Sulfate (mg/L) 93 95 95 9 < 10
removal of COD was 62% for monopolar and 7% for bipolar junction of
TSS- Total Suspended Solids, COD- Chemical Oxygen Demand, TOC- Total electrodes. The authors do not discuss at what values of current density
Organic Carbon, ND- Not Detected. these results are obtained. In [34], the conclusion was made about a
a
Purified LWW by EC/EF. more efficient cleaning of the LWW in the case of bipolar connection of
b
Water standard for laundry. electrodes.

For the bipolar electrode connection, the corresponding value of the

Al3+ yield is 1.65 g (A h = 5). For all types of connections, the elec- 3.2. The effect of solution temperature on the yield of Al3+ ions
trodes area is same, but difference in their polarization results in dif-
ferent volumes of generated ions of Al3+. Monopolar electrodes have Taking into account the fact that the monopolar connection of the
characteristics of low voltage and high current, while bipolar electrodes electrodes gives the best results, further laboratory investigations were
are characterized by high voltage and low current. When comparing the carried out with this configuration of the electrodes. The next step in
influence of the monopolar and bipolar connection of aluminum elec- the process optimization was to investigate the effect of the electrolyte
trodes on the LWW purification, it was stated [33] that at pH = 5.2 the temperature in the reactor on the process of the Al3+ ions production.
This is important from the point of view that the wastewater entering

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A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

Fig. 3. Dependence of the yield of Al3+ on the water temperature for three
Fig. 4. The efficiency of removal of surfactants as a function of the treatment
different CDs (pH = 5.5, treatment time 10 min).
time of the solution (CD =5.26 mA/cm2, Csurf =0.1 g/L), T = 25 °C, pH = 5.5).

the electrochemical treatment has a temperature of 30–35 °C. The de-

not significantly change after more than 7 min of processing. The values
pendence of the yield of Al3+ on the temperature of the treated was-
of cationic and non-ionic removal of surfactants (for the 3-minute
tewater is shown for three different values of CD in Fig. 3.
processing) reach 89% and 83%, respectively, and after 5 min the in-
As it can be seen from Fig. 3, a positive effect of the temperature
dices grow up to 93% and 91%. Further increase in the processing time
growth, which is important for industrial laundries, is observed only
for these two surfactants does not affect the percentage of removal.
before reaching a certain temperature maximum (60–80 °C). Further
Similarly behave such characteristics as color and turbidity. Their
increase in temperature reduces the yield of the metal. This is due to the
changes, as depending on the time of treatment of the solution, are
increasing intensity of the passivation of the aluminum anode for the
shown in Fig. 5.
account of the compaction and swelling of the colloidal aluminum
Optimal values of the processing time needed for the removal of
hydroxide in its micropores. The increase in the CD values from 1.5 up
turbidity and color, can be considered as 5 and 7 min, respectively.
to 3.0 mA/cm2 at the given temperature leads also to an increase in the
yield of Al3+. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the metal yield is much
greater than theoretical values calculated from the Faraday law. 3.4. The effect of current density on the removal of surfactants, color and
This is primarily related to the fact that electrochemical dissolution turbidity
of metals involves anodic dissolution (due to external electric current)
and chemical dissolution of anodes and cathodes. Therefore, in prac- As it was mentioned before, the process of coagulation in electro-
tice, the yield of metals by electric current can be greater than theo- coagulators proceeds much more intensively than reagent coagulation.
retical values calculated from the Faraday formula and can reach For this study, three different surfactants, namely, cationic, anionic and
110–125 % of the theoretical yield. At pH in the range of 5–7 up to 90% non-ionic, were taken. The dependence between efficiency of the sur-
of the aluminum anodes are dissolved, as the result of the electro- factant removal and CD is presented in Fig. 6. As we can see from the
chemical process. In addition, about 10% of the metal dissolves che- Fig. 6, the CD increase leads to a greater percentage of the surfactant
mically at the same time. removal.
At low values of CD (1 mA/cm2), the surfactants removal achieved
3.3. The effect of processing time on the removal of surfactants, color and is in the range of 23–40 % of the initial concentration. For cationic
turbidity of the solution surfactants, a maximum removal (93%) is achieved with CD
=5.26 mA/cm2. For two other surfactants and for the given CD, the
The time of the solution treatment is an important characteristic in
the studies of the wastewater treatment at industrial enterprises. As
follows from a number of experimental works [20,33,35], the proces-
sing time for cleaning the LWW depends on many parameters. Primarily
it depends on the concentration of surfactants, CD in the electrolytic
cell, temperature, pH, and a number of other parameters. As the ana-
lysis of these works shows, the processing time can vary from 3 to
30 min. For example, for aluminum electrodes the most optimal pro-
cessing time at low pH values (4–8) and current density within 4–6 mA/
cm2 is 5–10 minutes [35]. In [34], for the 90% removal of COD and
turbidity with the help of bipolar electrodes, the processing time was
20 min, while for the removal of surfactants and color it was 50 min.
In Fig. 4, the results of the surfactants removal from solutions by EC
are shown in dependence with the time of processing. As follows from
the graphs presented in Fig. 4, within a minimum period of the solution
processing time (t =1 min), the percentage of the surfactants removal is
negligible and amounts to 30–40 %. Increase in the treatment time up
to 3 min results in a significantly greater surfactant removal. Fig. 5. Change in color and turbidity as a function of the treatment time of the
For anionic surfactants, this value reaches a value of 71% and does solution (CD =5.26 mA/cm2, Csurf = 0.1 g/L), T = 25 °C, pH = 5.5).

4
A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

Fig. 6. The effectiveness of the surfactants removal in dependence with CD Fig. 8. Dependence of the surfactants removal in the electrochemical reactor on
(pH = 5.5, Csurf =0.1 g/L, treatment time =5 min., T = 25 °C). the pH values (CD = 5.26 mA/cm2, Csurf = 0.1 g/L), T = 25 °C, treatment
time = 5 min).

using EC (Al electrodes) for the pH range of 3–9 and processing time of
5–20 minutes, the effective CD ranges from 3 to 6 mA/cm2.

3.5. The influence of the pH on the removal of surfactants, color and

turbidity

The pH of the solution, along with processing time and CD, is an

important parameter for conducting electrochemical reactions in aqu-
eous media. In Fig. 8 the influence of pH values of the medium on the
removal of surfactants in the electrochemical reactor is presented. For
such low pH values as 4, the surfactants removal is achieved within
55–65 % of the initial concentration of MBAS.
The percentage of the surfactants removal changes in the following
way. For pH = 4.5 there is a sharp increase, 73–84 % in average. For
anionic surfactants, a maximum of 93% is achieved at pH = 5.5. For
two other surfactants, a certain decrease is observed, and a maximum is
Fig. 7. Influence of CD on the efficiency of removing color and turbidity of the
solution (pH = 5.5, Csurf = 0.1 g/L, T = 25 °C, treatment time = 5 min).
achieved at pH = 7.5. Further increase in pH does not lead to any
changes in the percentage. A similar study of the effect of pH on the
removal efficiency of surfactants in the LWW is given in [20]. So, under
surfactants removal takes values close to 80%. Further increase in CD laboratory conditions with the use of flat aluminum electrodes at pH 3
(7.89 mA/cm2) for anionic and nonionic surfactants leads to the more (CD =3.13 mA/cm2) the removal of SDS was 95%. The effect of the
effective removal of surfactants (within 90–95 %), as well. Alone with bipolar design of aluminum electrodes on the MBAS and turbidity re-
the removal of surfactants, a process of discoloration and removal of the moval process in dependence with the pH of the LWW is presented in
turbidity of wastewater is under way. Fig. 7 presents the results of the [35]. While maintaining pH of 5 and the treatment time of 5 min, the
effect of CD on the removal of color and turbidity of the solution. For removal efficiency of MBAS and turbidity was 97% and 98%, respec-
CD =1 mA/cm2, color removal was 45%, and turbidity removal was tively. This suggests that even at low pH values, high removal of MBAS
53%. can be achieved. The change in color and turbidity as a function of the
The increase in CD up to 2.63 mA/cm2 leads to a sharp increase in pH of the solution is shown in Fig. 9.
the percentage of color (87%) and turbidity (92%) removal. The max- As can be seen from the data in Fig. 9, at a low pH, percentage of
imum turbidity removal (99%) is achieved with CD =5.26 mA/cm2. removal was 65% for color and 75% for turbidity. The increase of pH to
When CD =7.89 mA/cm2, the maximum percent of color removal is 5.5 or higher leads to a complete removal of the turbidity in the solu-
achieved (98%). Introduction of the surfactants into the solution re- tion and to the 90% removal of color. It should be noted that the in-
duces the rate of the anode dissolution. As noted in a number of studies crease in pH values (9–11) leads to the decrease in the degree of re-
[33,36,37], passivation of both the anode and cathode is a serious moval of surfactants, color and turbidity. The percentage of removal
disadvantage when using electrocoagulation, which leads to a decrease takes values of 65, 54 and 58% for MBAS, color and turbidity, corre-
in the rate of dissolution of the anodes. A slight dissolution of the anode spondingly. The observed effect of pH can be explained by the presence
is observed for anionic surfactants. This may be due to greater passi- of various hydrated forms of aluminum in the solution. As shown in
vation of the surface of the electrodes. In the case of the superimposed [38], in the pH range of 5–8 the hydrolysis and polymerization of Al3+
potential, the motion of negatively charged particles of surfactant to the leads to the formation of particles Al(OH)2+, [Al2(OH)2]4+, Al(OH)3,
anode can lead to the formation of stable complex particles on the and of highly charged polymeric hydroxo complexes [Al13(OH)32]7+,
surface of the electrode and reduction of its effective surface. This, in which are effective for coagulation. When pH is greater than 10, the
turn, leads to a slower dissolution of the anode. As can be seen, the main hydrolysis product is Al(OH)4−, which does not favor the for-
factors such as temperature and CD affect the efficient operation of the mation of anodized aluminum species and the adsorption of dispersed
anode. In the above mentioned works [20,33,35] on cleaning the LWW solids. At low pH (< 4.5) where one has only aluminum ions, the

5
A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

Fig. 9. Change in color and turbidity as a function of the pH of the solution

(CD = 5.26 mA/cm2, Csurf =0.1 g/L), T = 25 °C, treatment time =5 min).

adsorption effect is insignificant. Fig. 10. Pilot installation for cleaning LWW. (1-EC/EF unit; 2- pump; 3- pur-
Electrical energy consumption (EEC) is the index of the effectiveness ified water tank; 4- filter; 5- collection of flotation sludge; 6- gas outlet pipe; 7-
for the EC/EF processes. This important parameter is obtained from the LWW supply line; 8- electrolyte supply line; 9- line for withdrawal of flotation
sludge; 10- line output of purified water; 11- purified water supply line for
following equation [8]:
reuse; 12- DC power apply for EC/EF reactor.).
WEEC = U(V) I(A) t(s) / Φ(m3) 3600 (s/h) 103 W/kW), (2)
3
Where WEEC is electrical energy (kWh/m ), U is the cell voltage (Volt), I via the line (7). The operation of the reactor begins with the supply of
is current in Ampere (A), t is electrochemical process time (sec), and Φ electrolyte through the line (8) using the pump (2). The upper part of
is the volume of the treated solution. To calculate EEC, those indices the reactor provides the output of gases (6), the withdrawal of flotation
were taken as initial parameters, at which the 90% removal of surfac- sludge into the collector (5) along the line (9), and the discharge of
tant, color and turbidity of wastewater had been achieved. Calculations purified water through the line 10 into the tank (3). After filtration (4),
show that for these three characteristics of the LWW the average value purified water is fed through the line (11) for reuse. After the foam
of W is equal to 1.25 kW h/m3. Parameter WЕЕC that is close to our destruction and the solid fraction separation, the remaining water re-
parameters of the EC reactor (CD and pH) takes the value of 3.68 kW h/ turns to the EC reactor for re-treatment and purification. Thus, ap-
m3 in [20]. The increased WЕЕC value is associated with more than three proximately 90–95 % of wastewater is returned for reuse.
times growth of time for processing the LWW. Thus, in the light of the Table 2 shows the test results for the pilot plant. As can be seen from
conducted research, it is possible to determine basic optimal conditions the table, satisfactory results are observed for the main parameters of
for the electrochemical purification of LWW. As a general criterion for the water quality assessment that allows the water reuse. They are
the parameters comparison, their 90% removal from the LWW was standard parameters used in industrial laundries (see Table 1). The
taken. For LWW taken immediately after the washing process, they will exception is low content of the MBAS. However, their presence allows
be as follows: pH is 5.5, CD is 5.26 mA/cm2, the treatment time of LWW you to save washing powder for the next wash cycle. For example, the
is 5 min. These parameters were taken as operating parameters for the percentage of turbidity removal during 7-minutes treatment for
pilot plant. pH = 5.5 is 90–95 %, color removal is 75–80 %, and the removal of
In conclusion, we present the results of the LWW purification for the MBAS is 80–85 % of the initial concentration. As to the other para-
EC/EF process (see Table 1, optimal experimental conditions). As seen meters listed in Table 1 and characterizing the quality of the purified
from the experimental results, the values of such parameters as TSS, water, they also have a high percentage. It should be noted that the
COD and TOC indicate a significant removal of pollutants from LWW. washing performed with purified water and water from a water supply
The concentrations of phosphate, nitrogen and sulfate anions in was- source (traditional washing) did not differ in quality. This suggests that
tewater are significantly reduced, as well. it is possible in principle to use treated wastewater in repeated washes
and to obtain both economic benefits and an ecologic effect. Un-
fortunately, it is not yet possible to compare the results of the electro-
3.6. Pilot-scale field tests chemical approach to the LWW cleaning and re-use with other works.
There is a study [3] in the literature, where on the basis of physico-
Based on the results of laboratory studies of LWW, a pilot EC plant chemical pre-treatment and different levels of filtration and ultra-
with a volume of 0.5 m3/h was manufactured. Twenty aluminum filtration the issue of returning water to reuse is solved. In terms of the
electrodes (the area of each was 0.12 m2) with an interelectrode dis- washing quality, the results of the second washing based on the purified
tance of 15 mm were connected in the monopolar manner. To prevent water do not differ from those for the original water. In our case, the
the passivation of the electrodes and the formation of sediment on their quality of purified water taken for reuse was checked out on bed linen.
surface, their polarity was changing every 20 min. The installation was Whiteness measurements were made using a portable device Konica
mounted in the laundry room of a hotel. The purpose of the research Minolta CR-20 color reader. When using primary water the whiteness
was to study the process of purification and reuse of LWW immediately index (W) was 100.8 and for purified water (cycles 1–5) the index was
in an industrial environment. The equipment consisted of a LWW sto- changing within 101.4 - 102.3. The results of the measurements suggest
rage tank, a reactor, a power source (power 50 V/50A), the foam col- that the LWW purified using the EC/EF method is quite suitable for
lector with sludge flotation, and a separator. reuse in the washing process.
Fig. 10 shows the scheme of the pilot unit for cleaning LWW. As it
can be seen, it consists of an EC/EF reactor (1) into which LWW is fed

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A. Dimoglo, et al. Journal of Water Process Engineering 31 (2019) 100877

Table 2
The parameters of initial and treated LWW for five cycles of its use in the laundry hotel industry, as an example (pilot plant).
LWW/Purified LWW Parameters

MBAS (mg/L) pH Conductivity (μS/cm) Turbidity (NTU) Color (Pt-Co)

LWW 1 (Starting) 45 11 1646 252 220

Purified LWW 1 14 6 1190 22 36
LWW 2 (Washing with Purified LWW 1) 83 11 1799 632 116
Purified LWW 2 11 6 1602 7 24
LWW 3 (Washing with Purified LWW 2 61 9 1656 740 179
Purified LWW 3 12 7 1577 9 46
LWW 4 (Washing with Purified LWW 3 84 11 1369 506 205
Purified LWW 4 13 6 1243 17 37
LWW 5 (Washing with Purified LWW 4 75 11 1457 540 185
Purified LWW 5 14 7 1105 6 31

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