UV/H2O2 process performance improvement by ultrafiltration and physicochemical clarification systems for industrial effluent pretreatment

• Main Authors: Ivanildo Hespanhol, Eduardo Lucas Subtil, José Carlos Mierzwa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais em Bacias Hidrográficas (IPABHi) 2012-12-01
• Series: Revista Ambiente & Água
• Subjects: UV/H2O2, ultrafiltration, physicochemical process
• Online Access: http://www.ambi-agua.net/seer/index.php/ambi-agua/article/view/926

The present study evaluated the removal of TOC from an effluent with high organic load resulted from the treatment of oil-water emulsion by thermal process. Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration membrane (HF-UF) and physicochemical clarification process were used as pretreatment options to assess the influence of feed effluent quality on the UV/H2O2 oxidation process. Results for TOC removals showed HF-UF and physicochemical clarification processes can significantly improve the efficiency of UV/H2O2 oxidation process, when compared with the direct effluent oxidation. Reaction time for obtaining a TOC removal higher than 90% was reduced to approximately half of the time needed when no pretreatment was applied. Considering both pretreatment processes it was not possible to notice any significant difference on the UV/H2O2 oxidation process performance. However, the complexity of physicochemical process due to the use of three different chemicals and sludge production made the HF-UF process the best pretreatment alternative, without increasing the Total Dissolved Solids of the effluent, a very important issue when water reuse is considered.