Combined zero-valent iron and fenton processes for the treatment of Brazilian TNT industry wastewater

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 165; no. 1; pp. 1224 - 1228
• Main Authors: Barreto-Rodrigues, Marcio, Silva, Flávio T., Paiva, Teresa C.B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 15-06-2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Brazil; Chemical engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Explosive Agents - chemistry; Fenton process; General purification processes; Hydrogen Peroxide - chemistry; Industrial Waste - prevention & control; Iron - chemistry; Pollution; Reactors; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; TNT industry wastewater; Trinitrotoluene - chemistry; Wastewaters; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Purification - methods; Water treatment and pollution; Zero-valent iron; Brazil; TNT industry wastewater; Fenton process; Zero-valent iron; Toxicity; Trinitrotoluene; Reuse; Zerovalent metal; Zero-valentiron; Continuous stirred tank reactor; Chemical oxygen demand; Industrial waste water; Manufacturing process; Environment impact; Production; Water quality; Fenton reaction; Explosives; Oxidation
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.09.120

The environmental impact caused by the production of explosives made from nitroaromatic compounds such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is currently a major concern, mainly due to their toxic nature, a fact that makes these compounds highly harmful. This work evaluated a continual system treatment reactor (CSTR) consisting of column zero-valent iron and a system to promote a fenton reaction in order to create possible definitive routines for treating effluents originating from the TNT production process. The spectrophotometric results demonstrated that this combination of processes was highly efficient in promoting the removal of all the absorbed species at 290
nm and the visible region of the specter. The results also revealed that the combination of treatments was significantly efficient in terms of correcting the effluent's main parameters of relevance, mainly COD (95.5% reduction) and TNT concentration, whose total was converted into nitrous and phenolic compounds and, additionally, the acute toxicity was also significantly reduced (95%). These results indicate that the strategy can serve as an efficient option for effluent treatment, for release into the receiving body, or eventually for use as industrial reuse water.