Integrated physicochemical processes to tackle high-COD wastewater from pharmaceutical industry

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Water Treatment Technologies

Background:

• Pharmaceutical wastewater poses significant environmental and health risks due to API residues and contaminants.
• Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) and cavitational treatments are promising for wastewater decontamination.
• Scaling up AOPs and monitoring hybrid technology synergies present challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate pilot-scale treatment of high COD pharmaceutical wastewater (PW).
• To evaluate hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) alone and combined with electrical discharge (ED)-cold plasma.
• To establish an efficient flow-through hybrid process for PW decontamination.

Main Methods:

• Pilot-scale testing of diluted PW using HC (60 bar, 330 L/h) and ED (15 kV, 48 kHz).
• Hybrid HC/ED treatment optimized for pressure (45 bar) and frequency (10 kHz).
• Integrated physicochemical process including activated carbon adsorption.

Main Results:

• HC alone showed limited COD reduction (∼15%), improved to ∼45% with extended recirculation.
• Hybrid HC/ED achieved ∼50% COD abatement in a flow-through mode.
• Integrated process with activated carbon reached >95% COD reduction and >98% surfactant removal.

Conclusions:

• The integrated physicochemical process is highly efficient for high-COD pharmaceutical wastewater.
• Hybrid HC/ED treatment, followed by adsorption, offers a robust solution for PW decontamination.
• The study demonstrates a viable approach for industrial wastewater treatment challenges.