The use of catalysts in the oxidation method of wastewater treatment

Summary

The complex physical and chemical composition of the pollution of wastewater of chipboard materials production dictates the need for heavy expenditures for the operation of treatment facilities using several treatment methods. Wastewater of plywood panel plants contains phenols, formaldehyde and many other toxic substances; therefore, developing a method for their removal is an urgent task. One of the effective methods of removing these toxicants from wastewater is ozonation in the presence of catalysts. Since most catalysts are expensive, cheaper agents based on transition metals and their oxides with high activity and comparatively low cost are being sought. In this regard, the Department of Applied and Natural Sciences of the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University conducted research to find an effective and affordable catalyst for enhanced oxidation of phenol and oil products in wastewater under the action of ozone. Wastewater of a plywood-panel plant was used to study catalytic ozonation. The optimal purification conditions were determined by kinetic curves of phenol decomposition. The results of the experiments in catalytic ozonation of wastewater showed high purification efficiency. The obtained results afford to state that for increasing the efficiency of removing pollution from wastewater of plywood-panel plants, ozonation in the presence of Fe₂O₃ heterogeneous catalyst used in small quantities is required, therefore there is no need to remove iron (III) ions from wastewater. The studied purification method provides for reducing the phenol concentration to the standard value (0.01 mg/dm³).

Key words

wastewater , phenol , oxidation method , catalytic ozonation , heterogeneous catalyst , chipboard construction materials