Comparative performance of Fenton and cavitation assisted Fenton techniques for effective treatment of greywater

Abstract

Reuse of appropriately treated greywater can be extensive solution to aid the overburdened water resources. The present work investigates the treatment of domestic greywater using HC, Fenton and hybrid HC + Fenton techniques. Operating parameters such as treatment time, inlet pressure, initial pH, Fe2+/H2O2 ratio etc. were optimized for individual HC and Fenton processes. Hybrid greywater treatment using HC + Fenton was performed at optimum operating conditions of pH: 4, Inlet Pressure: 4 bar, Fe2+/H2O2 Ratio- 1:10, treatment time: 1 h. Degradation efficiency of all the techniques was analyzed as COD removal. HC, Fenton and hybrid HC + Fenton techniques showed COD degradation of 53.5 %, 59.1 % and 92.8 % respectively in 60 min. Rate constants for HC, Fenton and hybrid HC + Fenton were 11.2 × 10−3, 12.7 × 10−3, 36.5 × 10−3 min−1 respectively. The hybrid approach used to clean greywater showed very little evidence of bacterial colony formation. Hybrid greywater treatment meets the need for reusing water for irrigation and domestic purpose. With a synergy rating of 1.5, hybrid technique is more effective than individual procedures. It was determined that the hybrid approach would cost 248.02 $/m3 to treat the greywater that has undergone hybrid treatment meets criteria for reuse and can be used in non-potable tasks. Hence, this work shows that hybrid HC + Fenton technique can be used for effective treatment to treat greywater.