Sulphate-based electrochemical processes as an alternative for the remediation of a beauty salon effluent‡.

Beauty salons (BS) are places that deal with a wide range of cosmetics with potentially hazardous chemicals, and their effluent should be properly treated before going to the sewage system, once it represents characteristics of industrial wastewater. This work provides an extensive characterization of a BS effluent and its respective electrochemical treatment by comparing NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , and Na 2 S 2 O 8 as supporting electrolytes with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) as anode, applying 10 or 30 mA cm−2 of current density (j). The inclusion of UVC irradiation was also performed but the improvements achieved in removing the organic matter were null or lower. The analysis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, energy consumption, and total current efficiency (TCE) was required to prove the efficacy of the processes and the comparative study of the performance of different technologies. Precipitate analysis was also done due to the high turbidity of the raw effluent and the appearance of a precipitate before and during the electrolysis, mainly with Na 2 S 2 O 8. The precipitate confirmed the presence of silicates and small amounts of heavy metals. The results clearly showed that 6 h of treatment with Na 2 SO 4 achieved 58% of COD removal with an energy consumption of about 0.52 kWh m−3, being the best electrolyte option for treating BS effluent by applying 10 mA cm−2. Under these experimental conditions, the final wastewater can be directly discharged into the sewage system with a lower amount of visible precipitate, and with 73% less turbidity. The treatment here proposed can be used as an alternative to decision-makers and governments once it can be a step further in the implementation of better and advanced politics of water sanitation. [Display omitted] • Electrochemical treatment of beauty salon effluent with BDD anode depends on its composition and electrolyte. • High turbidity of beauty salon wastewater turns UVC/Na 2 S 2 O 8 infeasible for its treatment. • Heavy metals such as Hg, Cr, and Cu are evidenced in the precipitated oxidized silicon. • The lesser Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte concentration (0.04 M) together with a minor j (10 mA cm−2) proved to be more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]