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Park JW, Kim SY, Noh JH, Bae YH, Lee JW, Maeng SK. A shift from chemical oxygen demand to total organic carbon for stringent industrial wastewater regulations: Utilization of organic matter characteristics. J Environ Manage 2022; 305:114412. [PMID: 34991028 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
From 2022, industrial wastewater discharge regulations in South Korea will replace chemical oxygen demand (CODMn) with total organic carbon (TOC). A shift from CODMn to TOC is a pioneering change in protecting water bodies from organic contaminants. However, several industries are struggling to meet these TOC requirements even though their effluents met the CODMn limits. Effluent CODMn/TOC ratios (1.28 ± 0.64) found in our study were lower than the CODMn/TOC coefficients (1.33-1.80) suggested by the Ministry of Environment in South Korea. Aliphatic and particulate organic matter contents in effluents likely influenced the CODMn/TOC ratio. Regardless of the industrial category, dissolved organic carbon often consists of low molecular weight neutrals, hydrophobic organic carbon, and protein-like substances in raw and treated industrial wastewaters. The present study also revealed that TOC and CODMn represented different organic matter fractions in the paper mill and oil refinery wastewater, whereas the industrial park wastewater showed similar dissolved organic matter characteristics. Specifically, CODMn was effective in the determination of humic content in paper mill wastewater but was underestimated in oil refinery wastewater. Additionally, only paper mill effluents exceeded the TOC requirements (4 of 6 samples) and required an additional post-treatment process owing to higher organic loads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Won Park
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Yeob Kim
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea; Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX, Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Jin Hyung Noh
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Ho Bae
- Department of Water Environment Management, Effluent Toxicity Management Division, Korea Environment Corporation (KECO), 42 Hwangyeong-ro, Seo-gu, Incheon, 22689, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Woo Lee
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea University, Sejong, 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Kyu Maeng
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05006, Republic of Korea.
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