Wet Oxidation Of Pharmaceutical Wastewater

Pharmaceuticals in surface water,wastewaters and potable water have recently been recognized as emerging environmental contaminants which gives rise to a growing concern about the inevitable impact and risk to human health and the environment.More than 80 different pharmaceuticals up to the ppm level have been reported in aquatic environments around the world.Research confirms that conventional technologies do not eliminated pharmaceuticals from wastewater completely and require advanced treatment technologies to sustainably reduce and eliminate these hazardous chemicals and prevent pharmaceuticals ending up in the world's water supply.The efficient treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater will allow for the safe disposal and recycling of previously toxic wastewaters for reuse in industrial processes and potentially human consumption.The treatment of industrial pharmaceutical wastewater effluents through wet oxidation is studied and optimized.A simple one step method using SCWO is employed to achieve the removal of high levels of organic and inorganic impurities present in the pharmaceutical wastewater.Pharmaceutical wastewater obtained from a penicillin manufacturing plant is combined with hydrogen peroxide and loaded into a micro bench-top pressure reactor.The effect of time,temperature(70? to 200?),reactant ratio,pH and adsorbent GAC have been mapped and analysed through a series of water quality test,namely COD,ammonium ion test,and nitrate and nitrite ion tests.Under optimized experimental conditions,efficient treatment of actual pharmaceutical wastewater was achieved,with removal of 100%chemical oxygen demand(COD),98%nitrate ion,98%nitrite ion and 68%ammonium ion.Our results suggest that WO process subcritical water apparatus is promising for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater.This study also lends itself well to possible scale-up opportunities.From the bench to pilot and pilot to industry,with the technology currently available,transition is extremely favourable.Early estimates demonstrate that with careful resource management,this project promises to be highly economically viable.A series of economic calculations show that for a pilot plant set-up,breakeven point can be achieved with in the first three to four years,subsequently allowing for a profitable run.