Treatment options for tannery wastewater. I: Alkalinization with or without post-ozonation

This is the first of two papers each dealing with a specific technological option for replacing the Fenton's reagent with simpler processes for treating industrial wastewater. In particular, the paper reports the results of an investigation aimed to check, at lab scale, the effectiveness of a chemical process (i.e., alkalinisation with or without post-ozonation) for treating tannery wastewater whose residual COD, measured after conventional biological treatment, result still higher than the Italian COD Maximum Allowable Concentration (MAC) value (i.e., 160 mgO2/L). The results have demonstrated that when the value of residual COD lies in the range 200 divided by 250 mgO2/L, a simple alkalinisation with NaOH, up to pH 12.5, allows to reach the MAC value with an alkali consumption equivalent to the acid consumption required by the Fenton treatment and with a chemical sludge production significantly lower, i.e. approximately 0.7 kg(dry)/m3 instead of approximately 1.5 kg(dry)/m3. Conversely, when the value of the residual COD lies in a higher range (i.e. 300 divided by 350 mgO2/L), in order to reach the COD MAC value, alkalinisation (from pH 8 to pH 12.5) must be followed by an ozonation post-treatment. From the chemical stand point, the paper clearly demonstrates that analyzing only simple "gross parameters" (i.e., TSS, TOC, COD, BOD5 and EC20) it is possible to get useful information about the chemical properties of the organic pollutants occurring in tannery wastewater.