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Technical Advisory #4

BIOMIN’S “TIP OF THE MONTH”:  Fenton Chemistry and Oilsorb™-Carbon Polishing

If a wastewater treatment facility is to meet discharge limits when using Fenton Chemistry, post-polishing with Oilsorb™ organoclay and activated carbon are an absolute necessity as the inherent variability of a Fenton's based approach and variances in influent waste water composition can be mitigated with post treatment media filtration.

Fenton Chemistry is used primarily for the treatment of waste waters with high COD, high BOD, recalcitrant organic pollutants, toxicity reduction, and odor and color removal.  It is particularly effective in situations where the water needs to be treated quickly, and only a small area for treatment equipment is available.  Organic compounds typically removed by Fenton chemistry are usually phenols, BTEX, formaldehydes, VOCs, and complex wastes derived from dyestuffs, pesticides, wood preservatives, plastic additives, and rubber chemicals.  Fenton's Chemistry consists of a combination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and metal ions such as Fe2+, Fe3+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and others.  Iron catalysis generates highly reactive hydroxyl radicals from the peroxide that cleave and oxidize organic compounds, resulting in the production of successively shorter hydrocarbons.  In wastewater, it is used as an ex-situ method, and is applied usually if the COD concentration is above 500 ppm.

Fenton chemistry operates best at a pH between 3.0- 4.0 where generation of hydroxy radical is maximized.  It can be used for the destruction of highly soluble oils, particularly synthetic ones which are not applicable to physical separation methods and tend to consume both organoclay and carbon in a rapid manner.  The pH is then raised to 7 before post-polishing because the generation of hydroxyl radicals by the Fenton reaction is nearly eliminated at a pH of 7, due to iron speciation, oxidation and precipitation.  Subsequently, the most effective partition of the remaining oil into Oilsorb™ organoclay takes place at a neutral pH.

Pre-polishing with Oilsorb™ organoclay when Fenton chemistry is used is rarely done, only if one is dealing with a heavy oil such as Bunker C (No.6) and high levels of isopropyl alcohol.  Post-polishing with an Oilsorb™-activated carbon system is necessary if discharge limits are to be met consistently.  Post Fenton's process intermediates, which may be hazardous, and un-reacted larger organics must be removed via media filtration to reduce toxicity to an acceptable level.  Often the reaction time for particular compounds may be too long, particularly with heavy oils, so post-polishing with Oilsorb™-carbon is important.  Iron chelates, phosphates, EDTA, formaldehyde, and citric-oxalic acids may inhibit the process. Pre-testing in the lab is important.

A good description of Fenton chemistry is found in: Industrial Wastewater; Reference Library; Peroxide Application.

For more questions about Fenton chemistry and Oilsorb™ organoclay, contact us at:  Biomin@aol.com, or our consulting engineer, Mikebarnhart@biomininc.com

You may also contact Professor Dionysiou, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Cincinnati.  Professor Dionysiou is an expert on Fenton chemistry.  He may be contacted at:  Dionysios.d.dionysiou@uc.edu.

Also, check out our web site:  www.biomininc.com.  Finally, Google is a good search engine to use for this topic:  www.google.com.

For other newsletters and technical advisories, look through our site.  Additional technical advisories are in process and will be released throughout the coming year.

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Biomin, Inc.

P.O. Box 20028

Ferndale, MI  48220

Phone:  248-544-2552

Fax:  248-544-3733

E-Mail:  biomin@aol.com

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