Personal Hygiene, Perfumery and Cosmetics (HPPC) industry has grown exponentially in the last decade, positioning Brazil as the fourth-largest consumer market globally. This growth has increased demand for environmentally sustainable solutions in cosmetic effluent treatment. This study aimed to compare treatment conditions of cosmetic effluents using electrocoagulation and a combination of organic coagulation and electrocoagulation, optimized via response surface methodology in a continuous upflow cylindrical electrochemical reactor (REC-FAC). A Central Composite Rotational Design (CCRD) was applied to optimize independent variables—electric current density (J) and hydraulic retention time (HRT)—for removal of color, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Results, analyzed through Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence (p < 0.05), showed that both HRT and J significantly influenced color and turbidity removal. Global desirability analysis indicated that optimal condition for electrocoagulation was an HRT of 34.96 minutes and J of 9.74 mA cm⁻², yielding 44.81% color, 82.70% turbidity and 72.67% COD removal. For combined treatment, optimal values were HRT of 34.96 minutes and J of 3.91 mA cm⁻², resulting in 75.51% color, 99.72% turbidity and 66,86% COD removal. These findings support improved efficiency of electrocoagulation, especially when preceded by organic coagulation, for treating cosmetic effluents.
Weber et al. (Sun,) studied this question.