Recovery and reuse of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions by a hybrid technique of electrodialysis and ion exchange

The chrome plating industry is one of the highly polluting industries whose effluent mainly consists of chromium(VI). This compound is highly toxic to aquatic life and human health. The rinse water constituents reflect the chrome plating bath characteristics; generally dead tank wash water contains about 1% of the plating bath concentration. Other metals and metal compounds usually considered as toxic can be precipitated out by suitably adjusting the pH of the wastewaters. However, Cr(VI) is soluble in almost all pH ranges and therefore an efficient treatment is required for the removal and recovery of chromium, and also for the reuse of wastewaters. The present study aims to recover the chromium by a hybrid technique of electrodialysis and ion exchange for the removal and concentration of chromate ions from the effluent. The different modes of operation like batch recirculation process, batch recirculation process with continuous dipping and continuous process were carried out to remove and recover the chromium from the effluent and the percentage reductions of chromium were found to be 98.69%, 99.18% and 100%, respectively. (author)