Advanced oxidation process for wastewater treatment

Abstract

Industrial wastewater treatment is important for removing pollutants before the wastewater is released into the environment. Advanced oxidantion process (AOP) based on the generation of highly radicals is an important method employed in wastewater treatment. There are various types of AOP such as air/H2O2, Fenton, and photo-Fenton. In this study, an aqueous solution of 1% ethanol and 0.2% isopropanol was used as the simulated wastewater generated from a polyethylene plant. Fenton/air and Fenton processes were selected as treatment methods. Various parameters that affect AOP were studied. The concentrations of simulated pollutants and TOC were reduced along the time-on-stream and reduced even further when higher air flow rates and concentrations of H2O2 were used. A mathematical model combining the effects of evaporation and chemical oxidation was adapted and improved from a previous work. The proposed mathematical model for the Fenton process gave a closely fit with the experimental data, however, the model prediction for the Fenton/Air process did not fit. The enormous over-prediction of the Fenton/Air model was probably due to the assumption of evaporation.