Electrocoagulation for dye removal in wastewater: A preliminary study using full factorial design

Abstract The electrocoagulation treatment is a promising technique to treat or remove pollutants from water or wastewater. It is a method of water treatment that combines coagulation and electrochemistry principles. In this research, synthetic wastewater containing Methyl orange and Rhodamine b dye were subjected to treatment using the electrocoagulation technique utilizing stainless steel electrodes. The experiments were carried out using electrochemical cells equipped with monopolar stainless-steel electrodes connected in parallel. The study examined the comparative of electrocoagulation treatment efficiency of synthetic wastewater containing Methyl orange and Rhodamine B dye using stainless steel electrodes. The result revealed correlation between the types of dyes and initial dye concentration due to synthetic wastewater’s treatment efficiency. The highest treatment efficiency percentage was observed at initial concentration 500ppm for Rhodamine B dye, while the treatment efficiency percentage for Methyl orange is lower. The experimental data were evaluated using statistical methods based on the General Full Factorial Design (GFFD) model. The model was found to be suitable due to its high coefficient of correlation (R 2 = 0.910) and a statistically significant p-value (≤ 0.003) for Methyl Orange, as well as an R 2 value of 0.842 with a statistically significant p-value (≤ 0.000) for Rhodamine B dye, confirming the model’s reliability. A p-value below 0.05 generally signifies the statistical significance of the model, while an R 2 value exceeding 0.8 indicates a strong correlation between the model and the observed data. Additionally, experimental findings reveal that electrocoagulation proves to be a more effective treatment method for synthetic wastewater containing Methyl Orange and Rhodamine B dye when compared to the adsorption technique.