Electrochemical treatment of chicken slaughterhouse wastewater with iron electrodes

The electrochemical treatment (ECT) of synthetic chicken wastewater (SWW) and raw chicken industry wastewater (RCIW) was assessed at 15 V and 25 V, focusing on parameters such as pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC) removal, total dissolved solids (TDS) removal, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, electrical energy consumption (EEC), hydrogen (H 2 ) production, sludge settling time, and electrode loss (EL). pH changes were voltage-dependent, with SWW shifting from highly acidic (2.7) to near-neutral (7.5) at 15 V and slightly alkaline (8.5) at 25 V, while RCIW showed minimal pH variation due to organic buffering. EC, TDS and COD removal was more efficient at 25 V for both SWW and RCIW. Sludge settling time was faster at 25 V compared to 15 V. H 2 production and EL increased with voltage, with SWW producing 3.5 L/m³ of hydrogen at 25 V, compared to 2.4 L/m³ for RCIW. Operating cost of the ECT process in optimum conditions varies from 5 to 31 INR/m³ of RCIW. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectra and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (TEM-EDX) are used to examine the sludge.