Hospital wastewater treatment using electrocoagulation: Performance, kinetics, settlement analysis, and cost-effectiveness

Abstract

The hospital units conduct a wide range of activities and generate a massive amount of effluent, which contains a large variety of contaminated pharmaceuticals, radioactive elements, and chemicals. The increased chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), turbidity, total hardness (TDS), nitrate, phosphates, and ammonium ions in wastewater have an unfavorable impact on all living forms of the ecosystem. Electrocoagulation (EC) is an adaptable technique for removing pollutants from wastewater, it has been used in this study to determine the optimal conditions utilizing several process variables, including pH, current density, time, and electrolyte dose. Up to 94%, 31%, 96%, 54%, 50%, and 22% respectively, less COD, BOD, turbidity, phosphate, nitrate, and ammonium ions were detected. Fecal indicator bacteria were significantly reduced. Subsequently, the treated water was evaluated for suitability of reuse in farming by comparing its parameters to those of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and Moroccan standards. After germination tests on radish beans, it was discovered that the EC-treated water was suitable for irrigation. The suitability of the implemented process was assessed by comparing it to advanced oxidation and biological approaches.