Post-treatment of banknote printing works wastewater ultrafiltration concentrate

Removal of pollutants in banknote printing wastewater by mesoporous Fe/SiO2 prepared from rice husk pyrolytic residues

Iron-incorporated silica (Fe/SiO₂) with different Fe/Si molar ratio was successfully prepared from rice husk pyrolytic residues (RHR) through alkali pretreatment, co-precipitation, and calcination. Various characterization methods indicated that the Fe/SiO₂ samples possessed mesoporous structure with Fe species incorporated into the framework of silica. The obtained materials were applied in the treatment of hazardous banknote printing wastewater, and under the optimal conditions, colored pollutants, humic acid-like and soluble microbial by-product-like organics were removed significantly. It was found that Fe/SiO₂ acted as both flocculant and catalyst, and the framework iron species catalyzed the oxidative degradation of refractory organics in the presence of H₂O₂. A heterogeneous Fenton-like system was formed in the wastewater treatment process.

Coagulation and adsorption as pretreatments of thin-film composite-forward osmosis (TFC-FO) for ink printing wastewater treatment

This study investigated the performance of coagulation with ferric chloride (FeCl₃.6H₂O) and adsorption with activated carbon used as pretreatments prior to thin-film composite-forward osmosis (TFC-FO) filtration of ink printing wastewater. Wastewater samples were collected from a printing factory located in Chao Phraya river basin where zero liquid-discharge standards are regulated. The FO filtration unit was operated in co-current mode with the cross-flow velocity of 600 mL/min using 2 M NaCl as draw solution. The FO membrane achieved 83.9-91.0% chemical oxygen demand and 91.2-99.9% color rejections. FO filtration of raw wastewater, coagulation-treated wastewater, and coagulation and adsorption-treated wastewater resulted in 56.3%, 49.0% and 46.1% of flux decline in 150 min. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry results revealed that cake formation caused by colloidal particles and pore blocking from precipitation were the major fouling mechanisms. Cake-enhanced concentration polarization also promoted adsorption of color and pigments at the membrane surface. Both fouling mechanisms were successfully mitigated by adsorption following coagulation pretreatment. Overall, the combined pretreatments and FO have potential for the effective treatment and reuse of ink printing wastewater.

Degradation of the biocide 4-chloro-3,5-dimethylphenol in aqueous medium with ozone in combination with ultraviolet irradiation: operating conditions influence and mechanism

Biocides usually persist during municipal sewage treatment and are subsequently distributed into aquatic environments. To explore the capability of advanced oxidation processes for the rapid removal of biocides, we examined the total organic carbon (TOC) reduction of 4-chloro-3,5-dimethylphenol (PCMX) with a combination of UV/O(3). Moreover, the related important parameters, including the mass transfer coefficient and light utilization efficiency, in PCMX degradation were determined. The UV/O(3) experimental results showed a pronounced synergistic effect, leading to the nearly complete elimination of TOC within 75 min. Thus, the effect of operating variables was investigated as a function of pH, ozone dosage, bulk temperature and the initial concentration of PCMX. The efficiency of PCMX mineralization increased with an increase in ozone dose up to 3.1 gh(-1), and a decrease in the initial concentration from 250 to 100mg L(-1). The optimal pH value was 4.0, and the preferred bulk temperature was 20 degrees C on the basis of the influence of temperature on reaction rate and ozone solubility. The major aromatic intermediates identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry were 2,6-dimethylbenzene-1,4-diol, 2,6-dimethylbenzo-1,4-quinone, 2,6-bis(hydroxymethyl)benzo-1,4-quinone, and 2,6-dimethylbenzo-1,4-aldehyde. Quantitative determination of related carboxylic acid and inorganic anions was done by ion chromatography. On the basis of the identified reaction products, a possible degradation pathway for the UV/O(3) oxidation of PCMX in aqueous media is proposed.

Electrochemical treatment of the pollutants generated in an ink-manufacturing process

The effluents of ink-manufacturing processes contain a large variety of pollutants such as dyes, surfactants, biocides, water soluble solvents, etc. In this work, the electrochemical oxidation of several dyes (methylene blue and rhodamine B), solvents (monoethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and glycerol) and surfactants (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) has been studied. To carry out the electrolyses, a bench-scale plant with a single-compartment electrochemical flow-cell was used. Boron doped diamond (BDD) was used as anode and stainless steel (AISI 304) as cathode. For all the compounds tested, the conductive diamond electrooxidation allows achieving the almost complete removal of COD of the waste with a very high current efficiency. The efficiencies of the electrochemical processes seem to depend on the current density and on the nature of the anions contained in the waste (chlorine, sulphate, phosphate). Thus, it has been observed that the use of chloride media favours the treatment of dyes. On the contrary, the use of sulphate- or phosphate-containing solutions improves the removal of the aliphatic compounds studied (solvents). These results suggest an important role of the mediated electrochemical processes on the overall performance of the reaction system.