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Tannery wastewater pre-treatment.

Mahmoud Abdel-Shafy Elsheikh¹

¹Faculty of Engineering, University of Tabuk, PO. Box 741, 71491 Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. mshafy2@yahoo.com

Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research

|July 28, 2009

Summary

This study evaluated tannery wastewater pre-treatment methods. A physico-chemical system effectively removed 98.8% of chromium, but electrolytic treatment showed poor pollutant removal efficiencies.

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Chemical Engineering
Water Treatment Technology

Background:

Tannery wastewater is a significant pollutant due to high organic matter, suspended solids, and chromium (III).
Chromium (III) salts used in tanning processes lead to highly contaminated wastewater, posing environmental risks.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate and compare the effectiveness of two pre-treatment systems for actual Egyptian tannery wastewater.
To assess the performance of an electrolytic system and a physico-chemical system in removing key pollutants.

Main Methods:

An electrolytic system was tested at varying currents (10-40 A).
A physico-chemical system utilized calcium hydroxide for chromium precipitation followed by plain sedimentation.
Pollutant removal efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), chromium (III), ammonia, and sulfide were measured.

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Main Results:

The electrolytic system demonstrated poor removal efficiencies for COD, TSS, chromium (III), ammonia, and sulfide.
The physico-chemical system achieved a high chromium removal rate of 98.8%.
The physico-chemical system resulted in moderate removal rates: 31% for COD, 25.8% for BOD(5), and 51.2% for TSS.

Conclusions:

The electrolytic pre-treatment system was ineffective for tannery wastewater.
The physico-chemical system, using calcium hydroxide and sedimentation, is a viable method for effective chromium removal from tannery wastewater.
Further optimization may be needed to improve the removal of organic matter and suspended solids in the physico-chemical treatment process.