Effluent Treatment Methods Research Articles

Combining Effluent Treatment Methods to Remove Ammonia Nitrogen from Tannery Wastewater

Combining Effluent Treatment Methods to Remove Ammonia Nitrogen from Tannery Wastewater

Synthesis and characterization of eco-friendly cathodic electrodes incorporating nano Zero-Valent iron (NZVI) for the electro-fenton treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater

The electro-Fenton process has the potential to be an efficient effluent treatment method, contingent on effective process optimization. It relies on two critical components: efficient in-situ H2O2 generation and the integration of highly reactive heterogeneous catalysts into electrode synthesis. In this study, several cathodic electrodes were synthesized, including those using zero-valent iron nanoparticles (P-NZVI), zero-valent iron nanoparticles supported on activated carbon (AC-NZVI), and El Hamma Bentonite clay loaded with zero-valent iron nanoparticles (HB-NZVI). These electrodes were fabricated using sustainable, straightforward methods and subjected to thorough physicochemical and electrochemical characterization. The goal of this research was to develop environmentally friendly cathodes, employing either pressed catalyst techniques or supporting the catalyst on carbon felt (CF) or titanium foil. These electrodes were evaluated within a heterogeneous electro-Fenton-like process, with a boron-doped diamond (BDD) anode, targeting the efficient degradation of the pharmaceutical pollutant Antipyrine (ATP). Among the tested configurations, the AC-NZVI/CF electrode demonstrated the highest degradation efficiency. Key experimental parameters, such as pH, current density, and water matrices, were systematically studied to optimize the process. Under optimal conditions (pH 7, current density of 55 mA A/cm2), 80 % mineralization of a 40 mg/L ATP solution was achieved within 150 min, with an energy consumption of just 0.3502 kWh/g. The performance of the AC-NZVI/CF electrode remained stable when applied to real wastewater and after five consecutive cycles. Comprehensive analyses using FTIR, SEM-EDS, and XPS confirmed the stability and recyclability of the electrode, showcasing its potential for sustainable wastewater treatment applications.

Water Footprint Reduction in Oil and Gas Refineries through Water Reuse: A Systematic Review

Oil and gas refineries are highly water-intensive industrial settings, with effluent containing a significant level of pollution stemming from diverse organic and inorganic compounds. Besides adhering to discharge standards for industrial effluent, incorporating treated oil refinery effluent (ORE) into the production cycle can play a pivotal role in curbing water consumption. In recent years, there has been research into different approaches to reclaiming ORE. Yet, selecting treatment methods that are technically, economically, and environmentally effective is crucial to preventing resource waste. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the last two decades of literature on methods and technologies used for ORE treatment. Based on the inclusion criteria, the final screening included 82 studies, with acceptable agreement assessed using Cohen's inter-examiner kappa equal to 0.86. The included studies were of biological treatment (n = 27), physicochemical processes (n = 12), advanced purification processes (n = 16), membrane-based technologies (n = 15), and green technologies (n = 13). This comprehensive review showed that the advanced membrane-based techniques are effective in the removal of pollutants from ORE for several reasons, such as reducing the consumption of chemicals, high efficiency, and ease of setup and maintenance. However, combined methods with a focus on membrane-based processes (e.g. UF-RO) are the most promising options for the reclamation of ORE. Since some effluent treatment methods require the use of chemicals and energy to run, future research should focus on environmentally friendly methods and the use of renewable energy.

Application of Artificial Neural Network Analysis in Predicting the Performance of Microbial Energy Cells

Objective: The objective of this study was to apply Artificial Neural Networks to evaluate the performance of Microbial Energy Cells, to identify the best network configuration for cell evaluation. Theoretical Framework: Although several of the widely used effluent treatment methods show results, most of them have a common disadvantage: they lose the chemical energy contained in the treated effluent and have high energy consumption for their conduction. Therefore, an increasing effort has been made to develop effluent treatment technologies capable of recovering part of the energy contained in the waste to be treated. In this scenario, microbial energy cells (CEM) emerge as a potential technology, as they are devices that simultaneously treat effluent biologically and generate electrical energy. Methodology: For the application and evaluation of ANNs in CEM, a feedforward neural network was used, with a Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm, 1 or 2 hidden layers, with sigmoid and tansig activation functions, and an accuracy factor of 10-5. The data used for training and validation for the ANN were obtained through a literature search. Networks with 15, 30, 50, 90, 100, 130, 150, and 200 neurons were used for testing to evaluate the best performance. Results and Discussion: With the results obtained, it was observed that the best adjustment of the network occurred with the 2-layer configuration, one layer with 100 neurons and the other output layer, with 49 interactions and R2 of 0.91 in the training adjustment, 0 .78 in the validation fit and 0.90 in the fit with all experimental data evaluated, respectively. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by evaluating the application of artificial neural networks, which are empirical modeling mechanisms, inspired by biological nervous systems, with processing abilities, in microbial energy cells.

Green trading and ecological sustainability under macroeconomic policy framework

When confronted with ecological challenges, trading ecologically friendly products involvingrenewable technologies, green management practices, and effluent treatment methods could alleviate ecological degradation on a global scale while considering the macroeconomic policy framework. Therefore, this study determines the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy instruments in moderating the relationship between green trade openness (i.e., trade in environmentally related products) and ecological sustainability. Applying panel quantile regression on data from 20 OECD members from 2003 to 2016, we found that green trade openness supports ecological sustainability through a gains-from-trade approach. Concerning moderation effects, expenditure-driven fiscal expansion reinforces the favorable influence of green trade openness on ecological sustainability across ecologically less/moderately efficient economies, while it does the reverse for ecologically more efficient members. Taxation-driven fiscal contraction promotes ecological sustainability amelioration impact of green trade openness for economies with below-average ecological quality and remains neutral for those with average/above-average ecological quality. Besides, interest rate-driven monetary contraction proliferates the ecological sustainability enhancement effect of green openness. We suggest that the fiscal and monetary policies demand unambiguous coordination with the OECD’s trade policy structure for optimal environmental outcomes of trading in environmental products. These insights would help OECD’s green trade policies gain momentum to facilitate the attainment of the Climate Action agenda of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Investigation of sorption capacity of AMPS-(PHE-Ce)/MC hydrogel for effective removal of basic red 2 dye

Using toxic and non-biodegradable dyes in various industries has resulted in severe environmental issues and is detrimental to living organisms. To reduce the harmful effects of these contaminants, it is essential to develop efficient effluent treatment methods. Hydrogel sorbents are a promising solution to this problem due to their high efficacy, easy synthesis, quick recovery, and potential for future reuse. In this study, a hydrogel sorbent using 2-acrylamido-2-methylepropanesulfonic acid, polyhydroxyethyl cellulose, and moisiv type 5A 1/16th inches pellet (moisiv clay) [AMPS-(PHE-Ce)/MC] was synthesized. The hydrogel composite material achieved equilibrium in 24 hours by Fickian diffusion, absorbing water and expanding in size. To investigate the sorption potential of the hydrogel sorbent, the cationic probe dye basic red 2 (BR-2) was used as the target pollutant. Different isotherm and kinetic models were applied to analyze the sorption data. The analysis of the sorption data revealed that the hydrogel facilitated the chemisorption of BR-2 through the ionic interaction with the dye. The hydrogel exhibited impressive sorption capacities (1331 mg g−1), which suggests that it holds promise as an efficient solution for eliminating cationic dyes in various industrial and environmental settings.

Estimating ammonium changes in pilot and full-scale constructed wetlands using kinetic model, linear regression, and machine learning

Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a widely utilized nature-based wastewater treatment method for various effluents. However, their application has been more focused on pilot and full-scale CWs with substantial surface areas and extended operation times, which hold greater relevance in practical scenarios. This study used kinetics, linear regression (LR), and machine learning (ML) models to estimate effluent ammonium in pilot and full-scale CWs. From screening 1476 papers, 24 pilot and full-scale CW studies were selected to extract data containing 15 features and 975 data points. Nine models were fit to this data, revealing that linear models were less effective in capturing CW effluent compared to nonlinear ML algorithms. For training data, the Monod kinetic model predicted the poorest performance with an RMSE of 41.84 mg/L and R2 of 0.34, followed by simple LR (RMSE 24.29 mg/L and R2 0.77) and multiple LR (RMSE 22.63 mg/L and R2 0.80). In contrast, Cubist and Random Forest achieved high performances, with an average RMSE of 12.01 ± 5.38 and an average R2 of 0.93 ± 0.07 for Cubist, and an average RMSE of 15.94 ± 10.69 and an average R2 of 0.91 ± 0.08 for RF. The trained Random Forest performed the best for new data, with an R2 of 0.93 and RMSE of 13.48 mg/L. This ML-based model is a valuable tool for efficiently estimating effluent ammonium concentration in pilot and full-scale CWs, thereby facilitating the design of systems.

Electrocoagulation technique and statistical analysis for treatment of real effluent from the pulp and paper industry

The electrochemical treatment of Organic Pollutants is a promising technique for substances with biodegradability resistance. In this research, the black liquor effluent originating from the Rakta Paper and Paper Company's mill, which employs rice straw as a raw material for paper fiber production, was subjected to treatment using the electrocoagulation method utilizing monopolar aluminum electrodes. The experiments were carried out using a 2.5 L electrochemical cell equipped with monopolar aluminum electrodes connected in parallel. The study examined the impact of operating parameters such as initial pH, current density, number of plates and electrolyte concentration on percentage removal and power consumption. The results revealed a positive correlation between the percentage of color removal and the duration of electrolysis, current density, sodium chloride concentration, and the number of electrodes used. The maximum color removal was observed at initial solution pH 6.5, experimental time 120 min, current density 61.8 A m−2, initial NaCl solution concentration 2 g L−1 and six aluminum plates. The statistical and mathematical data based on experimental results were analyzed using the central composite design from response surface methodology (RSM). The quadratic model is deemed appropriate owing to its substantial coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.99) and statistically significant p-value (≤ 0.0002), suggesting the model's significance. The experimental results indicate that the utilization of electrocoagulation as a treatment method for paper mill effluents has demonstrated superior efficacy compared to the adsorption technique.

A study of basic and reactive dyes removal from synthetic and industrial wastewater by electrocoagulation process

Large-scale textile industries used large amounts of toxic chemicals which are very hazardous to human health and environmental sustainability. In this study, the removal of various dyes from effluents of textile industries using the electrocoagulation process was investigated. The studied dyes were Reactive Red 120 (RR-120), Basic Blue 3 (BB-3), and Basic Red 46 (BR-46), which were found in samples collected from effluents of three major textile factories in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. For maximum removal, the dye BB-3 required acidic pH 3, RR-120 basic pH 11, while BR-46 neutral pH 7 conditions. BB-3 required a longer treatment time of 80 min than BR-46 and RR-120, which required 30 and 40 min, respectively. The best removal efficiency of 99.5%, 93.5%, and 96.3% was achieved for BR-46, BB-3, and RR-120, respectively, from synthetic wastewater containing 10 mg l-1of each dye at an applied potential of 10 V. The method was applied to real textile wastewaters and 73.0 to 99.5% removal of the dyes was achieved, Indicating Electrocoagulation can be used as a simple, and reliable method for the treatment of real wastewater from textile industries. It is used as a potentially viable and inexpensive tool for the treatment of textile dyes Analysis of the electrochemically generated sludge by X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy revealed the expected crystalline aluminum oxides (bayerite (Al(OH)3 diaspore (AlO(OH)) found in the sludge. The amorphous phase was also found in the floc. Textile industry owners should be aware of the impact of the discharge of effluents on the Ecosystem and should use the investigated electrocoagulation method for effluent treatment before discharging into the environment.

A survey on constructed wetland publications in the past three decades.

Decentralised wastewater treatment systems, such as constructed wetlands, are becoming increasingly popular these days because they are more economical and cost-effective than conventional plants. The primary objective of this review paper is to determine the number of studies that have been conducted on constructed wetlands, specifically 'free water surface flow constructed wetlands', 'horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands', 'vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands', and 'hybrid constructed wetlands'. In addition, the paper examines the status of research publications on constructed wetlands by country, author, and journal. Based on the review, it has been found that although constructed wetland technology is economical and cost-effective, it is still not among the top 10 effluent treatment methods. Compared to other constructed wetland systems, 'hybrid constructed wetlands' have received minimal attention. Based on the search results, 4639 documents published between 1989 and 2021 have been extracted from the online edition of SCI-EXPANDED, Web of Science. The documents associated with constructed wetlands are divided into eight main document types. Articles and proceedings papers are the most common document type, accounting for 93% of all publications, followed by reviews (4%), meeting abstracts (1.3%), corrections (0.56%), editorial materials (0.38%), news items (0.2%), letters (0.04%), and book reviews (0.02%).

Impacts of seasonal variations and wastewater discharge on river quality and associated human health risks: A case of northwest Dhaka, Bangladesh

Surface water pollution caused by the discharge of effluents from industrial estates has become a major concern for Dhaka (Bangladesh). This study aims to have a concise look at the severe river water pollution, mainly from effluents discharged from the tannery village. Effluent samples were collected from five ejected points, including the central effluent treatment plant (CETP), twenty adjacent river water, and two pond water nearby Hemayetpur, Savar. Thirty-one parameters have been observed at these sampling points for three seasons, from April 2021 to January 2022. The results obtained from water quality indices, i.e., water quality index (WQI), entropy water quality index (EWQI), and irrigation water quality index (IWQI), show that most studied surface water samples ranked “unsuitable” for consumption, irrigation, and anthropogenic purposes. The highest health risk was observed downstream of Hemayetpur city at the Savar CETP discharge site, indicating higher levels of heavy metal in the river water following the tannery village. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic human health risks could be triggered mainly by water consumption as concentrations of arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) exceeded the upper benchmark of 1 × 10−4 for adults and children. The results of the carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that children were more vulnerable to health hazards, and quick corrective action is required to control the increased levels of heavy metals at all sample locations. Therefore, through bioaccumulation, human health and the environment are affected in these areas. Using river water for consumption, household work, or even irrigation purposes is not advisable. This study's result highlighted that properly implementing compatible policies and programs is required to improve effluent treatment methods and provide biodegradability to the Dhaleshwari River.

A Simple and Effective Purification Method for Removal of U(VI) from Soil-Flushing Effluent Using Precipitation: Distillation Process for Clearance

Background: The purpose of this study is to purify uranium (U[VI])-contaminated soil-flushing effluent using the precipitation–distillation process for clearance. Precipitation and distillation are commonly used techniques for water treatment. We propose using a combination of these methods for the simple and effective removal of U(VI) ions from soil-flushing effluents. In addition, the U concentration (Bq/g) of solid waste generated in the proposed treatment process was analyzed to confirm whether it satisfies the clearance level.Materials and Methods: Uranium-contaminated soil was decontaminated by soil-flushing using 0.5 M sulfuric acid. The soil-flushing effluent was treated with sodium hydroxide powder to precipitate U(VI) ions, and the remaining U(VI) ions were removed by phosphate addition. The effluent from which U(VI) ions were removed was distilled for reuse as a soil-flushing eluent.Results and Discussion: The purification method using the precipitation–distillation process proposed in this study effectively removes U(VI) ions from U-contaminated soil-flushing effluent. In addition, most of the solid waste generated in the purification process satisfied the clearance level.Conclusion: The proposed purification process is considered to have potential as a soil-flushing effluent treatment method to reduce the amount of radioactive waste generated.

Effluent Treatment of Textile Industrial Waste using Treated Sugarcane Bagasse

Abstract: The study investigates the efficacy of effluent treatment methods on textile wastewater with bagasse. The textile industry is known to produce significant amounts of wastewater, which can contain various pollutants, including dyes, chemicals, and heavy metals. The study evaluates various treatment processes, such as coagulation-flocculation, adsorption, and membrane filtration, to determine their ability to remove pollutants from textile effluent. The research also considers the environmental and economic impacts of these treatment methods. The findings suggest that membrane filtration is the most effective method for removing pollutants from textile effluent, although it can be costly. The study concludes that implementing appropriate effluent treatment methods is essential for minimizing the environmental impact of the textile industry and maintaining the sustainability of water resources.

Modifications of petroleum industry effluent treatment Method: An approach for quality improvement of process water for ASP flooding and chemical EOR

Several Alkali Surfactant Polymer (ASP) pilot facilities are currently being put into operation across India. The physicochemical parameters of the process water play an important role in the success of ASP flood to improve the recovery. In the current study treated effluent from an effluent treatment plant (ETP) is used as process water for the ASP pilot. The ETP sample water collected shows a lack of improvement in quality in terms of iron content, higher total suspends solids (TSS), high turbidity, and low filterability. The process water has calcium (as Ca + ) 60 mg/L and magnesium (as Mg2 + ) 33 mg/L. These ions are critical in the ASP designing process. The increase in the rate of filtration was determined by plotting the rate of filtration against the cumulative volume (Cerini filtration). The MTSN values were observed to be −1.35 and −1.09. The RPI values are 7.15 and 2.60 at two different time periods. The sample collected showed a lack of improvement in quality. This tube well water after filtration was best suited for ASP flooding. However, the high concentration of calcium results in the formation of calcium carbonate in addition to sodium carbonate (to be used as alkali for ASP). Hence calcium should be removed by softening the process water in the softening plant. The water was treated in the laboratory with a calculated amount of sodium carbonate to remove calcium and magnesium. Which comes out to be 0.30 gm/l of water. After treatment water was filtered and calcium and magnesium concentrations were determined. The calcium concentration was calculated 13 mg/l as compared to 60 mg/l in treated water.

A Recent and Systemic Approach Towards Microbial Biodegradation of Dyes from Textile Industries

The textile industry generated a series of synthetic dyestuffs that threatened environmental protection. Azo dyes, widely utilized in textile, paper, fruit, leathers, cosmeceuticals and pharmaceutical fields, account for most of the dyestuffs made. Since they have colour fastness properties, stability, and susceptibility to oxidation, existing effluent treatment methods cannot entirely strip different dyes from effluents. Under certain environmental factors, bacteria decolourize and degrade dyes. The treatment process is cheap, environmentally safe, and can be used on various dyes. However, textile plant wastewater can produce many polluting chemicals and dyes. Environmental legislation is increasingly being enacted to regulate mainly azo-based dyes in the environment. The potential of the microbes for the decolourization of dyes and metabolizing them is long-known knowledge. The toxic components of dyes challenge a potential threat to all the living forms of life. Though both natural and synthetic dyes are used for the colourization of textiles, only synthetic ones are challenging to decolourize. Microbial-based bioremediation of dyes has been studied and reviewed primarily to accelerate dye degradation. The various piece of the literature revealed that the majority of these dye removal microbes belong to mainly white-rot fungi, a consortium of anaerobic bacteria. In addition to this, there are several (genetically engineered microorganisms) GEMs that remediate dyes efficiently. Here in the current review, the authors have tried to bridge the existing gap in the bioremediation of dyestuff. Moreover, the authors have also tried to provide the latest trend in this field. This study will surely benefit the industries and researchers related to dyestuffs by maintaining eco-friendly approaches.

Removal of heavy metals (Cu & Ni) from wastewater using rice husk and orange peel as adsorbents

Recent industrial growth in India has caused large quantities of heavy metals including mercury, lead, zinc, copper, nickel, cadmium, and chromium to be released into the environment.As heavy metals are extremely toxic and non-biodegradable, it is extremely difficult to separate them from the atmosphere.Many research studies attempted to address the ability of the non-conventional absorbents in removing different types of wastewater pollutants. As a cost-effective alternative to conventional effluent treatment methods, Bio-sorption technology utilizes natural and agricultural waste materials as absorbents, which are relatively cheaper, sustainable, and abundant. The study concentrates on the capacity of rice husk and orange peel in extracting heavy metals from waste water. Adsorption tests has been carried out for different combinations of rice-husk and orange peel varying dosage, contact time, pH and mixing speed and optimal levels resulting in maximum removal efficiency levels are ascertained. To determine the efficiency of the adsorbents, Redlich-Peterson isotherms were constructed using different combinations of orange peel and rice-husk under varying conditions.

Effect of pH and Dye Concentration on the Photocatalytic Efficiency of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized via Greener Route using Commiphora berryi and its Antibacterial Activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli

Green synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles is extremely developing methodology because of its bio compatibility nature. In the present work, iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesized by simple Co-precipitation method with the use of Commiphora berryi plant exudates. The formed iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. Photocatalytic activity of synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles was determined against Methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous medium. Iron oxide nanoparticles acted as a photocatalyst and decompose the dye under solar irradiation. Results show that 73 % of degradation efficiency was attained after 150 minutes with a nanoparticle dosage 0.5 mg/L which makes the IONPs as potential applicant for various effluent treatment methods. Further the results indicate that the efficiency increases with increasing pH and decrease with increasing the MB dye dosage. Antimicrobial activity of IONPS was studied against E.coli and S. aureus. IONPs show excellent antibacterial activity for both the organisms; with 16.5 mm and 16.75 mm zone of inhibition respectively for E.coli and S. aureus.

Emerging pharma residue contaminants: Occurrence, monitoring, risk and fate assessment – A challenge to water resource management

Water is one of the important gifts to mankind. In recent days the accessibility of pharmaceuticals in the environment is progressively a worldwide concern. The significant wellspring of these contaminations in water assets is drugs for human use or veterinary medications. Intermediates, active metabolites and raw materials present in water from pharmaceutical industry waste because of incomplete sewage treatment systems. Various pharmaceutical components such as analgesic/antipyretics such as Ibuprofen (57.9–104 ng/L), Diclofenac (17–129 ng/L), antibiotics such as Sulfamethoxazole (28.7–124.5 ng/L), Sulfamethazine (29.2–83.9 ng/L), Azithromycin (10–68 ng/L), psychiatric drug such as Carbamazepine (9.3–92.4 ng/L), stimulants such as caffeine greater than 55 ng/L, antidepressants, antihypertensive, contraceptives etc., are present in water resources and have been detected in mg/L to μg/L range. The synergic effects and ecotoxicological hazard assessment must be developed. Studies demonstrate that these drugs might cause morphological, metabolic and sex alterations on sea-going species, and interruption of biodegradation activities. Hazard analysis and assessments are in progress. However, the conventional effluent treatment methods are not sufficient to remove API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) from this water effectively. There is necessitate for continuous monitoring of the pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic ecosystem to save the environment and living form of lives from health hazards. This work highlights the hazards, environmental assessment and the mitigation measures of pharmaceutical pollutants.

Photocatalytic Filtration of Zinc Oxide-Based Membrane with Enhanced Visible Light Responsiveness for Ibuprofen Removal

The growing interest in mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for developing photocatalytic membranes has provided a new direction in the search for efficient methods to concurrently separate and degrade contaminants. In this study, a visible light-responsive photocatalyst was blended into a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane casting solution to prepare PVDF-ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O MMMs using the wet phase inversion method. The potential of ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O as a photocatalytic component that is incorporated into the membrane was explored in detail under various loadings (0.5–2.91 wt%). The membranes were tested under ibuprofen (IBF) aqueous solution to analyze the membrane behavior in the synergistic combination of membrane filtration and photodegradation. The resulting PVDF-ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O membrane with a rougher membrane surface area and excellent light harvesting capability showed higher photocatalytic filtration activity in removing IBF under visible light irradiations. The MMM fluxes demonstrated higher IBF fluxes than their initial fluxes at certain durations. This indicates that the membrane actively responds to light irradiation. The increase in the positive flux could be attributed to the photoinduced hydrophilicity generated by the ZnO/Ag2CO3/Ag2O photocatalyst, resulting in easier water layer formation and rapid transport through membranes. The highest IBF removal was demonstrated by the PVDF-ZAA2 membrane (1.96 wt% loading), with 49.96% of IBF removal within 180 min upon visible light irradiation. The reason for this lower IBF removal is that the UF membrane pores exceed the size of IBF molecules, thereby preventing the size exclusion mechanism. Thus, charge repulsion, hydrophobic adsorption, and photocatalytic activity were considered along with the IBF removal of the photocatalytic membranes. However, the recyclability of the PVDF-ZAA2 photocatalytic membrane showed a great improvement, with 99.01% of IBF removal recovery after three cycles. These results highlight the potential of such hybrid membranes in mitigating membrane fouling by providing a platform for photocatalysts to continuously degrade pollutants present in such wastewaters. Therefore, the hybridization of a photocatalyst and membrane provides insight that could be utilized to improve and retrofit current water effluent treatment methods.

Waste pollution, wastewater and effluent treatment methods – An overview

Population increases with an increase in urban growth and unfortunately so does pollution. Pollution has therefore become n endemic universal problem resulting in depletion of ozone layer, resulting a rapid spike in global warming, and adversely affecting human life. One major cause of this pollution is the poor disposal of industrial and municipal wastewater and effluent. These pollutants containing inorganic compounds and heavy metals pose a serious threat to the lives of humans and other living organisms alike. This study therefore reviews the influence of wastewater pollution as well as the treatment methods used in recent times as a panacea in the society.