Pharmaceutical Wastewater › Decision Support
What Does Electrochemical Oxidation Actually Cost for a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Site?
Cost is driven by three things specific to this stream: organic load (COD), flow rate, and how close to complete mineralization your discharge target requires you to get. Here’s how those factors played out on one documented deployment.
Reviewed for technical accuracy by Janeczka Kowalski, Process / Electrochemical Engineering. Figures and ranges on this page are engineering starting points — verify against your own pilot or vendor data before finalizing a design. The content is created by the Evoaeo engineering team led by Janeczka, All rights reserved.
A Real Worked Example
| Parameter | Influent | Effluent |
|---|---|---|
| Flow rate | 500 m³/day (21 m³/hour) | |
| pH | 6–7 | 6–9 |
| COD(cr) | 13,650 mg/L | ≤360 mg/L |
| Ammonia nitrogen | 680 mg/L | ≤54 mg/L |
Source: Hebei Pharmaceutical case study. Cost scales primarily with COD load and flow rate — a stream at this concentration and volume sits at a meaningfully different cost point than a lower-COD or lower-flow site.
Cost Structure: What Actually Drives CAPEX and OPEX
CAPEX drivers: reactor sizing (scales with flow rate and required residence time), electrode area and material, power supply capacity, and pretreatment equipment where suspended solids or oils need removal ahead of the EO stage.
OPEX drivers: electricity consumption (scales with COD load and target mineralization depth), electrode replacement interval, and routine maintenance.
Trial and bench-scale testing — see EO Trial Modules and EO Bench Modules — is how these figures get sized accurately for your specific stream rather than estimated from a generic benchmark.
Want a cost estimate for your specific stream?
Share your COD, flow rate, and discharge target — we’ll scope what a bench trial would tell you before you commit capital.