Analysis of Oil & Grease Removal in Turpentine Industry Wastewater with a Combination of Electrocoagulation - Fenton Process

The turpentine industry produces liquid waste containing organic materials, especially turpentine oil dissolved in water (an emulsion), which is expressed in the form of oil & grease (O&G), resulting in difficulties in biodegradation. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new method for breaking down the emulsion using a combination of Fenton and Electrocoagulation (Fe-SS), an electrochemical process that utilizes a strong oxidizer. The experiment was conducted in a Fenton reactor using a strong oxidizer, FeSO4, with or without H2O2, followed by an Electrocoagulation process using Fe-SS electrodes. The experiment showed that the combination of the Electrocoagulation-Fenton process was very effective in breaking down oil-in-water emulsions (O&G), which the Fenton process, using a combination of FeSO4 - H2O2 at a mole ratio of 1:2 and Electrocoagulation at 9 V for 60 minutes, was able to remove 99% of O&G.