Pulp Mill Effluent Treatment Using Plasma Obtained by High Voltage Electrolysis

Abstract

Effluents from pulp mills have a high organic load and can still contain high organic biorecalcitrant material that is harmful to the aquatic environment, even after undergoing biological treatment in effluent treatment plants. This study presents a novel treatment method tested on effluents (prior to and after biotreatment) from a Brazilian kraft pulp mill, based on hydroxyl radical production and hydrogen peroxide obtained by plasma generated by high-voltage electrolysis. These species present significant oxidation potential that could enable the complete breakdown of the organic matter. From the application of plasma to treat pulp mill effluent for a 7-hour period, it was obtained a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal between 88.2 and 99.7%, total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 90.3 to 95.6%, and a color removal of 95.0 to 98.0%. The final pH of the treated effluent was 11.6 to 11.9. The results obtained in this study showed that the high-tension plasma treatment, applied on effluent from kraft pulp mills before and after biological treatment, can be an attractive alternative.

Degradação de ibuprofeno por eletrólise sob plasma elétrico de alta tensão e baixa corrente, com sistema multieletrodos

“…Os Processos Oxidativos Avançados vêm sendo intensamente estudados e utilizados na degradação de diversos compostos, entre os quais os compostos recalcitrantes, que não podem ser tratados eficientemente por tecnologias biológicas (Ikehata et al, 2006;Ciríaco et al, 2009;Melo et al, 2009;(PRIYADARSHINI et al, 2022). Vários trabalhos utilizando plasma elétrico gerado sob eletrólise de alta tensão e baixa corrente tem sido conduzidos para a decomposição de compostos orgânicos, como o ácido tricloroacético (Lei et al, 2014), mineralização do pentaclorofenato (Yang e Tezuka, 2011), degradação de difenilamina (Gai, 2007), tratamento de efluente de indústria de papel (Matias et al, 2018), dentre outros.…”