PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH CAIR INDUSTRI TAHU DENGAN METODE ELEKTROKOAGULASI SECARA KONTINYU

Abstract

Tofu is a traditional food that is popular with most Indonesians, causing the tofu industry to develop rapidly. However, there are still several tofu industries that do not have a proper waste processing system. This can result in pollution in rivers and the environment around the tofu industry. Based on these problems, it is necessary to process liquid waste from the tofu industry to reduce COD, BOD and TSS levels in liquid waste from the tofu industry. One method of processing liquid waste that is very promising is electrocoagulation. In this research, the processing of liquid waste from the tofu industry was carried out using a continuous electrocoagulation method. Electrocoagulation is a combination of the electrolysis process and the flocculation coagulation process. This process is influenced by several factors, namely current strength, electric voltage, residence time, temperature, pH and conductivity. This research aims to determine the effect of electrode area and electric voltage on reducing COD, BOD and TSS levels in liquid waste from the tofu industry. The electrodes used in the electrocoagulation process are aluminum and iron. The electrocoagulation process uses a wide variety of aluminum and iron electrodes (832; 1036; 1240 cm2) and voltages (10; 20; 30 Volts). The best research results for reducing COD and BOD levels were at an electrode area of 1240 cm2 and a voltage of 10 Volts, while the best reduction in TSS levels was at an electrode area of 1240 cm2 and a voltage of 30 Volts. The electrocoagulation process using aluminum electrodes with variations in current strength (5; 7; 9 Ampere) and flow rate (10; 15; 20 minutes) obtained the best results at a current strength of 5 Ampere and a flow rate of 20 minutes. However, the results obtained do not meet quality standards. So it is necessary to review the conditions and levels of waste contained in the waste that will be used so that the results obtained are more consistent.