Evaluation of Model and Process Optimization for the Treatment of Drilling Wastewater Using Electrocoagulation

The extraction of underground resources has accelerated globally, in response to the demands of advancing technology and the rapidly growing population. The increase in drilling activities has caused an increase in environmental pollution problems caused by waste generated during drilling activities, namely drilling sludge and drilling wastewater. In this study, the treatability of wastewater generated during drilling operations in a basin, where an underground gas storage area was created, was investigated using an electrocoagulation (EC) process, using different electrode pairs. The removal efficiencies of the pollution parameters were determined using the response surface method. The wastewater parameters included different organic and inorganic pollutants, such as sodium, chloride, magnesium, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The concentrations of sodium, chloride, and COD in drilling industry wastewater were found to be very high, at 128,567, 185,292, and 7500 mg/L, respectively. The data obtained in this study yielded a removal efficiency of approximately 65% and above. Sodium achieved the highest pollutant removal efficiency of 85% and above. The statistical values were interpreted for all the pollutants and the suitability of second-degree regression was observed.