ABSTRACT
One of the main environmental issues caused by the tanning industry is given by the high concentration of chromium contained on its effluents. The removal of this pollutant has become a technological challenge. To solve this issue, this work proposes a continuous process based on mixers-settlers for the removal of the chromium present in effluents from the tanning industry. The process involves the use of liquid-liquid extraction systems. The study includes the development of isotherms for the removal and stripping, which are further represented through a mathematical model to determine the number of theoretical extraction stages and other operational variables. The results show that a better extraction is achieved in a system with two theoretical stages using Cyanex 272 as extractant, reaching more than 94% of removal of chromium with an extractant concentration of 0.32 mol/L. For stripping, sulfuric acid is used, obtaining a maximum recovery of 94%.
Subject(s)
Chromium , Water Pollutants, Chemical , Environmental Monitoring , Industry , Tanning , Industrial WasteABSTRACT
The removal of highly concentrated pollutants, presented in a wastewater mixture from industrial tannery effluents by electrocoagulation, was examined. All experiments were carried out in a rotating cylinder electrode reactor with six aluminum anodes and two sedimentation tanks. The influence of the applied current density and rotational speed on the removal efficiency of an electrocoagulation reactor was studied. Chemical oxygen demand was diminished at 70%, while total suspended solids, chromium (III) and turbidity were almost eliminated (>90%) with 6 mA cm-2 of the applied current density. Additionally, a homogeneous cathodic deposit was obtained at the end of each test. Those cathodic deposits and flocs were analyzed by SEM-EDS. Calculations of the cell energy consumption and the produced aluminum cost were estimated for 6 mA cm-2 and 100 rpm, obtaining 1.98 kWh m-3 and $0.7 USD m-3, respectively.