Kinetics of the electrocoagulation of oil and grease

<p>Research on the electrocoagulation (EC) of hexane extractable materials (HEM) has been conducted at the University of New Orleans using a proprietary bench-scale EC reactor. The original reactor configuration forced the fluid to follow a vertical upward-downward path. An alternate electrode arrangement was introduced so that the path of flow became horizontal. Both configurations were evaluated by comparing the residence time distribution (RTD) data generated in each case. These data produced indication of internal recirculation and stagnant water when the fluid followed a vertical path. These anomalies were attenuated when the fluid flowed horizontally and at a velocity higher than 0.032 m s-1 . A series of EC experiments were performed using a synthetic emulsion with a HEM concentration of approximately 700 mg l-1. It was confirmed that EC of HEM follows first-order kinetics, and kinetic constants of 0.0441 s-1 and 0.0443 s-1 were obtained from applying both the dispersion and tanks-in-series (TIS) models, respectively. In both cases R2 was 0.97. Also, the TIS model indicated that each cell of the EC behaves as an independent continuous-stirred-tank reactor.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis-Restricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Year

2011

Author dc:creator

• Rincon, Guillermo

Contributors dc:contributor

• LaMotta, Enrique J.
• McCorquodale, J. Alex
• Kura, Bhaskar

• Electrocoagulation
• residence time distribution
• bench-scale reactor
• step-input tracer test
• hexane extractable materials
• first-order kinetics
• dispersion model
• tanks-in-series model
• plug-flow reactor
• aluminum electrode
• non-ideal flow
• wastewater treatment
• oil and grease

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/131

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1130