Wastewater Treatment Resulting From an Oil Shale Retorting at High Frequency Ultrasound Waves With a Chemical Elemental Analysis

Abstract

This study aims at applying ultrasound techniques with high frequency to treat wastewater. One application that was chosen here is to apply ultrasound wave on spent wastewater resulting from Jordanian oil shale retorting, which is known as retort water. The proposed process has shown an excellent ability on retort water treatment. At a fixed high ultrasound wave of 1.7 MHz, the spent wastewater evaporated in a mist form and was drawn out by shaft fans for condensation in a vessel immersed in ice. The only parameter studied here is the spent wastewater volume used to apply an ultrasound wave on it, while ultrasound wave frequency and the exposing time were fixed in all experimental works. Physical properties like pH for condensate were measured and found to be close to 7 compared to its original value which was 4. The measured conductivity for condensate has been reduced in a significant value compared to its original sample. The best condition for reduced conductivity was obtained at 35 ml of spent wastewater. At this volume, the ultrasound wave has the ability to decrease the conductivity to its lowest value. Spent wastewater samples before and after the ultrasound exposing period of time were analyzed using mass spectrometer, and all scanned heavy metals that have been identified to be existing in retort water are listed here.

How Photocatalyst Dosage and Ultrasound Application Influence the Photocatalytic Degradation Rate of Phenol in Water: Elucidating the Mechanisms Behind

“…Ultrasound (US) was shown to be a promising technology in wastewater treatment [13][14][15][16]. Low frequency (<1 MHz) US waves cause the so-called cavitation process when submitted to an aqueous medium.…”

Study and Application Status of Ultrasound in Organic Wastewater Treatment

“…As for high-frequency ultrasound, it is seldom applied in the common treatment process of organic wastewater but rather in the treatment of special wastewater such as oil shale retorting wastewater. As the high-frequency vibration of ultrasound can throw away the water molecules on the surface of water into the air to form mist, Matouq et al [39] applied high-frequency ultrasound with a frequency of 1700 kHz to treat oil shale retorting wastewater in order to separate water, and dissolved organic compounds by means of evaporation and condensation. The conductivity of the condensate declined remarkably with the residue, revealing the successful separation of water, and dissolved organic compounds.…”

Study on Pollution Characteristics of Shale Refinery Wastewater

“…In the process of refining oil shale, a large amount of shale oil refining wastewater will be produced. This wastewater has the characteristics of high concentration of pollutants, many toxic and harmful substances, and difficult treatment [2][3][4][5]. According to the current research situation at home and abroad, produced one ton of shale oil, 9-13 tons of water are consumed and 2.5 tons of waste water are generated [6].…”