Identification of specific organic contaminants in different units of a chemical production site

Abstract

Due to the very limited number of studies dealing with the chemical composition of industrial wastewaters, many industrial organic contaminants still escape our view and consequently also our control. We present here the chemical characterization of wastewaters from different units of a chemical complex, thereby contributing to the characterization of industrial pollution sources. The chemicals produced in the investigated complex are widely and intensively used and the synthesis processes are common and applied worldwide. The chemical composition of untreated and treated wastewaters from the chemical complex was investigated by applying a non-target screening which allowed for the identification of 39 organic contaminants. According to their application most of them belonged to four groups: (i) unspecific educts or intermediates of industrial syntheses, (ii) chemicals for the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, (iii) educts for the synthesis of polymers and resins, and (iv) compounds known as typical constituents of municipal sewage. A number of halogenated compounds with unknown toxicity and with very high molecular diversity belonged to the second group. Although these compounds were completely removed or degraded during wastewater treatment, they could be useful as "alarm indicators" for industrial accidents in pharmaceutical manufacturing units or for malfunctions of wastewater treatment plants. Three potential branch-specific indicators for polymer manufacturing were found in the outflow of the complex. Among all compounds, bisphenol A, which was present in the leachate water of the on-site waste deposit, occurred in the highest concentrations of up to 20 000 μg L(-1). The comparison of contaminant loads in the inflow and outflow of the on-site wastewater treatment facility showed that most contaminants were completely or at least significantly removed or degraded during the treatment, except two alkylthiols, which were enriched during the treatment process. The chemical composition of the inflow samples showed a very heterogenic composition and strongly varied, reflecting that large scale industrial synthesis is carried out in batches. The outflow contained mainly unspecific chlorinated educts or intermediates of industrial syntheses as well as compounds which are known as typical constituents of municipal wastewaters.

Identification of characteristic organic contaminants in wastewaters from modern paper production sites and subsequent tracing in a river

“…They are employed as colour sensitizers for manufacturing of thermal papers. However, DIPN was also detected in process waters collected in a chlor-alkali electrolysis unit of a chemical production site [26].…”

“…Paper production 2 Paper production 3 Paper production 4 Paper production 5 Inflow Outflow in leachate and seepage water of waste deposits [26,35]. Because TMDD and bisphenol A also originate from municipal sewage to a minor extent and municipal inputs are ubiquitous in all regions, we expect that both compounds might be present at low concentrations in most surface waters.…”

In-Situ Deposition of Plasmonic Gold Nanotriangles and Nanoprisms onto Layered Hydroxides for Full-Range Photocatalytic Response towards the Selective Reduction of p-Nitrophenol

“…Chemical and petrochemical industries produce an extensive range of harmful and highly toxic organic contaminants such as phenols or CO x [1,2]. So far, the removal strategy has been to develop catalysts that promote or activate chemical reactions that often require the use of toxic and aggressive chemical oxidants, chromates and permanganates among them, generating toxic by-products as a result of the pollutant decomposition process [3].…”

Structural Diversity of Organic Contaminants in a meso-scaled River System

“…While the large plants in Düren and Jülich also treat industrial wastewater, the smaller ones treat mainly municipal wastewater revealing a municipal origin of TXIB. Also, according to Dsikowitzky et al (2014a), it is a typical constituent of municipal sewage and is not readily biodegradable. However, overall, it can be assigned to a non-specific and diffuse origin as it was present at every sampling location.…”