Attenuation of organics contamination in polymers processing effluent using iron-based sludge: process optimization...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Water Treatment Technologies
• Industrial Effluent Management

Background:

• Acid mine drainage (AMD) poses environmental challenges.
• Industrial effluents, particularly from polymer and plastics manufacturing, contain persistent organic pollutants.
• Conventional treatment methods can be costly and less effective for certain organic contaminants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of utilizing iron recovered from AMD as a Fenton's reagent.
• To optimize the removal of organic pollutants from polymer and plastics manufacturing effluent.
• To characterize the oxidation process kinetics and thermodynamics.

Main Methods:

• Fenton oxidation using iron extracted from AMD.
• Response surface methodology (RSM) for optimizing treatment parameters (AMD iron dose, H2O2 concentration, pH).
• Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of the oxidation reaction.

Main Results:

• Optimal conditions identified: 40 mg/L AMD iron, 500 mg/L H2O2, pH 2.2.
• Achieved up to 98% total organic carbon (TOC) removal.
• Removal efficiency increased with temperature up to 40°C.
• Oxidation followed second-order reaction kinetics.
• Thermodynamic analysis indicated an endothermic and non-spontaneous reaction.

Conclusions:

• AMD-derived iron is a viable Fenton reagent for industrial wastewater treatment.
• Optimized Fenton process offers high efficiency for organic pollutant removal.
• Understanding reaction kinetics and thermodynamics aids in process design and scalability.