Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater by Graphite–Graphite Electro Fenton System Using Batch Recirculation Electrochemical Reactor

Water pollution and the lack of access to clean water are general global problems that result from the expansion of industrial and agricultural activities. Petroleum refinery wastewaters are considered as a major challenge to the environment and their treatment is mandatory. The present work investigated the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from petroleum refinery effluents generated from the Al-Dewaniya petroleum refinery plant located in Iraq by utilizing a novel graphite–graphite electro-Fenton (EF) system. The electrochemical reactor was a tubular type with a cylindrical cathode made from porous graphite and concentric porous graphite rode acts as an anode. By adopting the response surface methodology (RSM), the impacts of different operating variables on the COD removal were investigated. The optimal conditions were a current density of 25 mA/cm2, FeSO4 concentration of 1.4 mM, and electrolysis time of 90 minutes, which resulted in the COD removal efficiency (RE%) of 99% at a specific energy consumption (SEC) of 10.34 kWh/kg COD. The results indicated that both current density and concentration of FeSO4 have a major impact on the elimination of COD, while time has a minor effect. The adequacy of the model equation was demonstrated by its high R2 value (0.987). The present work demonstrated that the graphite–graphite EF system could be considered as an effective approach for removing of COD from petroleum refinery wastewaters.