Abstract
The present study deals with the treatment of textile effluent using electrochemical techniques on pilot scale (70 L). One of the major problems encountered in the textile industry is the production of large volumes of highly colored wastewater. The scope of this new electrochemical treatment is a significant advance to the existing technologies. There were four different treatments employed as; T1: wastewater, T2: wastewater with 0.1% electrolyte, T3: diluted wastewater (50% tap water), and T4: diluted wastewater (50% tap water) with 0.1% electrolyte. The color and COD in the effluent were reduced to 47% and 46% in T1, 70% and 52% in T2, 75% and 57% in T3, 80% and 59% in T4, respectively by using iron plate electrodes in four hours. The toxicological studies proved that electrochemical treatment could effectively detoxify the effluent. The mortality rate of Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) was 70% decreased in treated textile effluent as compared to untreated textile effluent. Overall, electrochemical treatment process has been proved to be efficient in reducing COD, color and toxicity and thus treated water can be reused.