Comparison in the performance of magnetic field–induced MBBR‐coupled with advanced oxidation processes for textile effluent treatment with cost estimation

Abstract

AbstractDirect biological treatment of textile effluent is not amicable as its biodegradability index (BI) is low. This study has focused on the feasibility of improving the biodegradability by pretreating the effluent using advanced oxidation processes, namely homogeneous solar photo‐Fenton (HSPF) and advanced solar photo‐Fenton (ASPF) processes and subsequent treatment through moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) exposed with a magnetic field. In the ASPF process, biosynthesized nano zero‐valent iron in place of Fe2+ has been used. Enhancement in biodegradability after pretreatments has been confirmed by the BI, kinetic coefficients, and toxicity test. The satisfactory physical state of the sludge has been ensured by an improved sludge volume index of the pretreated effluents. The effluents after pretreatments have been undergone treatment through moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) after inducing the magnetic field and found that the treated effluent can be disposed of either into irrigation water or into inland waters conforming to the standards of effluent parameters. Carrier materials inoculated with predominant bacteria present in the textile sludge identified by the 16S rRNA method have been used in the MBBR. The parameters affecting the photo‐Fenton and MBBR treatment have been optimized using the Box–Behnken design in response surface methodology. The cost of the two integrated processes (HSPF+MBBR and ASPF+MBBR) has also been compared and it is found that the ASPF–MBBR integrated process proved slightly less expensive.