Abstract

The wastewater resulting from slaughtering and meat processing in slaughterhouses contains a high amount of organic matter. The discharge of these wastewaters into rivers, sewage networks or soil creates significant environmental pollution. In the present study, the treatment of wastewater from Erbil cattle and poultry slaughterhouse through an electrochemical coagulation method has been investigated. In experimental studies, the effects of current density, initial pH, and support electrolyte concentration (Na₂SO₄) on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency have been investigated. Through numerous treatment investigations with main slaughterhouse wastewater samples, the aluminum electrodes exhibited a removal efficiency of 82.43%. at an electric current density of 20.00 mA/cm² and pH 5. While by using iron electrodes a COD removal efficiency reached 92.52% at an electric current density of 20 mA/cm² and pH 9.  Despite the electrocoagulation (EC) lower COD, the system's effectiveness cannot be evaluated without taking the toxicity into account. for such cases, Microtox evaluations were done for the most efficient COD removal level. The electrocoagulation technique was shown to lower both toxicity and COD. As a result, it has been found that EC with iron and aluminum electrodes is an appropriate technique for treating slaughtering wastewater containing high levels of organic contaminants in terms of COD reduction and toxicity minimization.