Development of an environmentally sustainable technique to minimize the sludge production in the textile effluent sector through an electrokinetic (EK) coupled with electrooxidation (EO) approach.

This study presents an environmentally sustainable method for minimizing sludge production in the textile effluent sector through the combined application of electrokinetic (EK) and electrooxidation (EO) processes. AAS and XRF analyses reveal that utilizing acidic electrolytes in the EK method successfully eliminates heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, and Cr) from sludge, demonstrating superior efficiency compared to alkaline conditions. In addition, the total removal efficiency of COD contents was calculated following the order of EK-3 (60%), EK-1 (51%) and EK-2 (34%). Notably, EK-3, leveraging pH gradient fluctuations induced by anolyte in the catholyte reservoir, outperforms other EK systems in removing COD from sludge. The EK process is complemented by the EO process, leading to further degradation of dye and other organic components through the electrochemical generation of hypochlorite (940 ppm). At an alkaline pH of 10.0, the color and COD removal were effectively achieved at 98 and 70% in EO treatment, compared to other mediums. In addition, GC-MS identified N-derivative residues at the end of the EO. This study demonstrates an integrated approach that effectively eliminates heavy metals and COD from textile sludge, combining EK with EO techniques.