Textile effluent treatment by reductive process using commercial steel wool followed by oxidative process

Textile industries stand out as one of the main polluters of water resources, generating large amounts of liquid effluents with variable composition and intense coloration. The objective of this work is the integration of the reductive process using commercial steel wool, combined with oxidative processes, in the treatment of textile effluent. The effect of the variables of the reductive process were studied using a 32 factorial design. After 30 minutes, the reductive process allowed a reduction of 68% COD, 46% TOC, 62% true color and 72% of total phenols, but showed an increase in color apparent and turbidity, due to the iron species formed by the oxidation of steel wool during the process. With the combined process using sunlight, the reduction was 73% COD, 50% TOC, 97% phenols, 93% true color and 48% apparent color. With artificial light, the reduction was 94% COD, 63% TOC, 95% phenols, 98% true color and 65% apparent color. The evaluation of the acute toxicity against Daphnia magna indicated that after the proposed treatments, the effluent did not present toxicity or the toxicity was reduced. It is concluded that the combined process can be considered an efficient alternative for the treatment of textile effluent.