Application of Pier Waste Sludge for Catalytic Activation of Proxy-monosulfate and Phenol Elimination From a Petrochemical Wastewater

This investigation aimed to remove phenol from a real wastewater (taken from a petrochemical company) by activating peroxy-monosulfate (PMS) using catalysts extracted from pier waste sludge. The physical and chemical properties of the catalyst were evaluated by FE-SEM/EDS, XRD, FTIR, and TGA/DTG tests. The functional groups of O-H, C-H, CO32-, C-H, C-O, N-H, and C-N were identified on the catalyst surface. Also, the crystallinity of the catalyst before and after reaction with petrochemical wastewater was 103.4 nm and 55.8 nm, respectively. Operational parameters of pH (3-9), catalyst dose (0-100 mg/L), phenol concentration (50-250 mg/L), and PMS concentration (0-250 mg/L) were tested to remove phenol. The highest phenol removal rate (94%) was obtained at pH=3, catalyst dose of 80 mg/L, phenol concentration of 50 mg/L, PMS concentration of 150 mg/L, and contact time of 150 min. Phenol decomposition in petrochemical wastewater followed the first-order kinetics (k> 0.008 min-1, R2> 0.94). Based on the reported results, it was found that the pH factor is more important than other factors in phenol removal. The catalyst stability test was performed for up to five cycles and phenol removal in the fifth cycle was reduced to 42%. Also, the energy consumption in this study was 77.69 kw.h/m3. According to the results, the pier waste sludge catalyst/PMS system is a critical process for eliminating phenol from petrochemical wastewater.

Enhancing phenol removal from waste water by adding powder activated carbon to the lab-scale activated sludge system

In this study, the commercial powder activated carbon (PAC) was added to a bench scale conventional activated sludge (CAS) system to enhance phenol removal. The mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) concentration of CAS with adding PAC was stable in all stages of operation, while MLSS concentrations in CAS without PAC addition sharply decreased as the Phenol loading reached 1.8 g phenol/L.day. Higher removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Phenol achieved with the CAS by PAC addition compared with those achieved with CAS without PAC addition. The difference in COD removal efficiency was 7 - 9% in stages 3 and 4 (0.8 and 1.2 g phenol/L.day, respectively), and about 33% in stage 5 (1.8 g phenol/L.day). The advantage of CAS with PAC addition was clearly observed in the highest phenol loading (1.8 g phenol/L.day) because the MLVSS/MLSS ratio of CAS with PAC addition increased and the COD and phenol removal efficiencies kept stable in this stage, while reverse trends were found for CAS without PAC addition. The results indicated that the adaptive ability of the CAS by adding PAC was significantly higher than the CAS without AC addition. This study offers useful preliminary results for applying a hybrid system between CAS and adsorption with PAC for further research and application in future.

Phenol removal by enhanced electrocoagulation process with persulfate salt

Introduction. Phenol is classified as priority pollutant. Phenol and its derivatives are stable in water, environmental contamination, and health concerns that are used as raw material in many chemical industries. This study investigated the removal of phenol by the reactivity of free sulfate radicals (SO4•–), activated by electrochemically generated Fe2+/Fe3+ ions which furthermore are evaluated to destroy phenol in aqueous solution. Materials and methods. In the present experimental study, electrocoagulation reactor by iron electrodes is used in the pre­sence of persulfate ions to phenol removing from aqueous solutions. In this regard, the effect of four independent variables including pH, electric current, persulfate dosage, and initial phenol concentration were studied on phenol removal. Results. The study determined the optimum conditions for maximum phenol removal using electro-persulfate process (EPS) as pH 3, 7.4 mM persulfate dosage, 27.78 mA/cm2 current density, and 100 mg/L initial phenol concentration at 30-min reaction time. The results showed that the efficiency of phenol removal was directly related to the initial persulfate dosage. In addition, the pH values, less than the phenol pKa, has slight effect onto the phenol removal. However, it was inversely correlated with a highly alkaline pH and higher phenol concentration. Conclusions. The study concluded that electro-persulfate process is an effective and robust process that can be used for handling of phenol containing wastewater.

Synthesis of Oil Palm Frond (OPF) Based Silica Nanomaterial via Sol-gel Method with Enhanced Phenol Removal

This research investigates the potential of the oil palm frond (OPF), a well-known biomass from the oil palm industry, as a feasible silica precursor that can be utilised in the removal of phenol from an aqueous solution. Dried OPF was combusted to obtain OPF ash that was treated with citric acid before being synthesised as silica nanomaterial via the sol-gel method. The FTIR results of synthesised silica exhibit a similar peak with commercially available silica. Silica material was then used for phenol removal under different parameters including pH, contact time, dosage, concentration, and temperature, then analysed using UV-Vis Spectrophotometer. The optimum condition was obtained at pH 7 within 45 mins of contact time using 0.2 g/L silica dosage under 10 ppm of phenol concentration at 303 K that aid in enhancing phenol removal by the OPF-based silica. At this condition, silica nanomaterial successfully removed up to 68% of phenol in an aqueous solution with adsorption capacity of the adsorbent is within the range of 34 mg/g. These results demonstrate the potential application of silica nanomaterial from OPF as an adsorbent in phenol removal from wastewater.

PHENOL removal in refinery wastewater using mixed oxides prepared by green synthesis

Mixed solid oxides are known for their excellent catalytic property and applications in environmental remediation. This study presents a green-synthesis route for magnesium oxide–titanium oxide, a mixed oxide here demonstrated to possess high performance of phenol removal from hydrocarbon refinery process wastewater. Mixed oxide (MgO-TiO2) was prepared by using the whole extract from leaves of Piliostigma Thonningii as reducing agent. A structural attribute of the mixed oxide was investigated using X-ray Diffractometer, High-Resolution Scanning Electronic Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray. Petroleum refinery raw wastewater having phenol concentration of 19.961 mg/L was treated using the green-synthesized mixed oxide. Adsorptive phenols removal up to 99.5% was achieved with a dosage of 0.04 g/100 mL at temperature of 35 °C, and contact time of 1.167 h. By this, the treated water meets the standard acceptable phenol concentration (0.1 mg/L) in wastewater of hydrocarbon refinery.