Effect of organic molecular weight on mineralization and energy consumption of humic acid by H2O2/UV oxidation.

In this study, the effect of molecular weights (MWs) on mineralization, energy consumption, kinetic reaction, and trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) of humic acid was evaluated by the process of H2O2/UV oxidation. Three ranges of MWs of 100 k-10 kDa (sample A), 10 k-1 kDa (sample B), and less than 1 kDa (sample C) were investigated. The results showed that the reaction constant k increased with either increased UV intensity or increased H2O2 dose; the order of k was kA > kB > kC, for all UV intensities from 16 to 64 W and H2O2 dose from 25 to 100 mg L(-1). In terms of EEO and EEM, the energy consumption decreased as the H2O2 dose increased with the descending order of sample C > sample B > sample A. The three samples had an initial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of 20 mg L(-1) with the related values of THMFP of 325, 359, and 468 µg L(-1) for samples A, B, and C, respectively. After H2O2/UV oxidation, the combination of a higher UV power with a shorter time was a better treatment condition for samples A and B as residual DOC and THMFP were smaller.

Effective Reuse of Electroplating Rinse Wastewater by Combining PAC with H2O2/UV Process.

This study evaluated the performance of treating electroplating rinse wastewater by powder activated carbon (PAC) adsorption, H2O2/UV oxidation, and their combination to remove organic compounds and heavy metals. The results showed that neither the process of PAC adsorption nor H2O2/UV oxidation could reduce COD to 100 mg/L, as enforced by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency. On the other hand, the water sample treated by the combined approach of using PAC (5 g/L) pre-adsorption and H2O2/UV post-oxidation (UV of 64 W, H2O2 of 100 mg/L, oxidation time of 90 min), COD and DOC were reduced to 8.2 mg/L and 3.8 mg/L, respectively. Also, the combined approach reduced heavy metals to meet the effluent standards and to satisfy the in-house water reuse criteria for the electroplating factory. The reaction constant analysis indicated that the reaction proceeded much more rapidly for the combined process. Hence, it is a more efficient, economic and environmentally friendly process.

Process optimization for Ni(II) removal from wastewater by calcined oyster shell powders using Taguchi method.

Waste oyster shells cause great environmental concerns and nickel is a harmful heavy metal. Therefore, we applied the Taguchi method to take care of both issues by optimizing the controllable factors for Ni(II) removal by calcined oyster shell powders (OSP), including the pH (P), OSP calcined temperature (T), Ni(II) concentration (C), OSP dose (D), and contact time (t). The results show that their percentage contribution in descending order is P (64.3%) > T (18.9%) > C (8.8%) > D (5.1%) > t (1.7%). The optimum condition is pH of 10 and OSP calcined temperature of 900 °C. Under the optimum condition, the Ni(II) can be removed almost completely; the higher the pH, the more the precipitation; the higher the calcined temperature, the more the adsorption. The latter is due to the large number of porosities created at the calcination temperature of 900 °C. The porosities generate a large amount of cavities which significantly increase the surface area for adsorption. A multiple linear regression equation obtained to correlate Ni(II) removal with the controllable factors is: Ni(II) removal(%) = 10.35 × P + 0.045 × T - 1.29 × C + 19.33 × D + 0.09 × t - 59.83. This equation predicts Ni(II) removal well and can be used for estimating Ni(II) removal during the design stage of Ni(II) removal by calcined OSP. Thus, OSP can be used to remove nickel effectively and the formula for removal prediction is developed for practical applications.

Reducing THMFP by H2O2/UV oxidation for humic acid of small molecular weight.

In this study, the merits of using H2O2/UV oxidation for reducing trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), colour, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of smaller molecular humic acid were investigated, especially the energy consumption based on EEO. The results show that THMFP decreases by increasing oxidation time, H2O2 dose and UV intensity. The reaction constant in descending order is kColour>kDOC>kTHMFP. Furthermore, EEO shows three trends. First, it decreases as H2O2 dose increases. That is, by increasing the amount of H2O2 dose, the electrical energy efficiency becomes better. Second, EEO,9 W>EEO,13 W, implying that higher UV power would result in a higher electrical energy efficiency. Third, EEO,THMFP>EEO,DOC>EEO,colour. That is, the electric energy efficiency is the best for colour removal, second for DOC removal, and third for THMFP reduction. The operation costs for 90% removal of colour, DOC, and THMFP are from 0.31 to 0.69, from 0.78 to 1.72, and from 1.11 to 2.29 US$/m3, respectively. However, reducing THMs to Taiwan's drinking water standard of 80 µg/L needs only 0.25-0.60 US$/m3. Therefore, the condition with UV of 9 W, H2O2 of 50 mg/L, and oxidation time of 23 min can be applied for THMs reduction as the cost is the smallest of 0.25 US$/m3, even lower than current Taiwan's drinking water price of 0.3 US$/m3.

Treatment of textile effluents by H2O2/UV oxidation combined with RO separation for reuse.

This study evaluates the feasibility of the treatment of textile effluents by H2O2/UV oxidation combined with reverse osmosis (RO) membrane separation for water reuse in textile dying processes. The results showed that the conductivity of textile effluents was from 2340 to 4560 micros/cm. Addition of auxiliary chemicals used during the dyeing processes increased the conductivity in textile wastewaters. The H2O2/UV pre-oxidation of textile effluents can mineralize or oxidize dissolved organic carbon (DOC) effectively. However, the removal of conductivity and hardness were poor. Pretreatment of the textile effluent by H2O2/UV oxidation can decrease silt density index (SDI) values and osmotic pressure and increase permeate flux when followed by RO separation. H2O2/UV pre-oxidation and RO post-treatment can improve the textile effluent quality and meet the water quality criteria for water reuse in the textile industry. In conclusion, the combined H2O2/UV pre-oxidation and RO post-process is a promising treatment for textile effluents for water reuse.