Biological oxidation of organic constituents in tar-sand combustion-process water

A study was performed to characterize a sample of reverse-forward, tar-sand combustion process water, and to conduct an initial evaluation of activated sludge treatment of the process water. No pretreatment of the wastewater was considered necessary prior to biological oxidation other than addition of ca. 0.006M caustic/L influent to maintain reactor pH in the desired range of 7.0-7.5. The process water was treated successfully by biological oxidation, achieving an 88% reduction of both COD and soluble organic carbon and a 97% reduction of BOD. The disposition of about 150 organic compounds was evaluated and it was shown that a variety of carboxylic acids and aromatic compounds were removed by treatment. Quinolines and certain higher molecular weight carboxylic acids were not removed as effectively as other compounds. These preliminary results should assist in the design of future investigations with tar-sand process water for purposes of optimizing process treatment and improving sample characterization.