Effect of Operating Parameters on the Electrocoagulation of Reactive Orange 16 Using Aluminium Electrodes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/bioenv.v4i3.171Keywords:
Electrocoagulation, Reactive Orange 16, aluminium electrode, colour removal, wastewater treatmentAbstract
The discharge of coloured dye-containing wastewater from industries such as textiles, paper and plastics is an environmental concern due to its potential adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Electrocoagulation (EC) has been widely studied as an alternative technique for dye removal from wastewater due to its simple operation and high removal efficiency. In this study, EC using aluminium electrodes was investigated for the removal of Reactive Orange 16 (RO16) from aqueous solution at an initial concentration of 150 mg L⁻¹. The effects of initial pH, current density and electrolysis time on colour removal efficiency were investigated and discussed. Initial pH substantially affected the colour removal performance. Near-neutral initial pH (measured at 7.73) achieved the highest observed colour removal efficiency of 96.24% after 160 min at a current density of 0.0075 A cm⁻². Although near-neutral pH gave the highest observed colour removal efficiency, an acidic initial pH of 3.57 also achieved a comparable colour removal efficiency of 95.91% and reached a removal plateau within a shorter treatment time of 140 min. The solution pH was observed to change during electrocoagulation and generally approached mildly alkaline conditions. Current density influenced both colour removal efficiency and the time required to reach a removal plateau. The highest current density investigated (0.0100 A cm⁻²) achieved 97.88% colour removal within 110 min, whereas lower current densities required longer treatment periods. The removal of RO16 was attributed to the formation of aluminium hydroxide flocs, which promoted pollutant removal through charge neutralisation, adsorption and sweep flocculation. Overall, electrocoagulation using aluminium electrodes demonstrated high colour removal efficiency under the laboratory conditions investigated and showed potential for the treatment of dye-containing wastewater.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nur Izzatul Hada Azrin, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shariff Ibrahim, Sabiha Hanim Saleh, Megat Ahmad Kamal Megat Hanafiah
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