Abstract
Fossil fuel combustion is a serious environmental problem. Significant quantities of flue gasses and wastewater, requiring further treatment, are produced. This article compares three wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) wastewater treatment methods: coagulation with precipitation using iron(III) ions—recommended by the European Union as the best available technique (BAT)—and two alternative advanced oxidation processes (Fe2+/H2O2 and Fe0/H2O2). Both oxidation processes that were used met the technical FGD wastewater treatment requirements of the BAT. The best treatment effects, expressed as pollutants’ removal, were obtained for the Fe2+/H2O2 process for 150/300 mg/L reagent doses. It allows effective removal of boron up to 212 mg/L and heavy metals up to below the detection limit <0.010 mg/L for Pb and <0.005 mg/L for Cu. Therefore, the Fe2+/H2O2 process could be an option for FGD wastewater treatment as an alternative to the BAT recommended iron(III)-based coagulation with precipitation. Additionally, an analysis of variance was applied to check the significance of the two independent variables and their interactions. Statistical analysis confirmed high efficiency and applicability of treatment process.
Highlights
Coal combusted in power plants is the main source of energy in Poland
Due to the large amount of easily settleable solids (ESS), sedimentation was effective in the flue gas desulphurization (FGD) wastewater treatment
FGD wastewater can be effectively treated with all three investigated processes: coagulation with Fe-based coagulants, the Fe0 /H2 O2 process, and the Fe2+ /H2 O2 process
Summary
Coal combusted in power plants is the main source of energy in Poland. As a by-product, considerable quantities of solid waste, ash, and flue gases are generated. Flue gas purification consists of the removal of solid particles, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur oxides. As a result of desulphurization, where the most commonly used method is wet lime [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8], a significant amount of wastewater is generated. Wastewater from the wet flue gas desulphurization (FGD) system is characterized by a high content of inorganic compounds in the form of salts, primarily gypsum [9,10].
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