Physicochemical Treatment Research Articles

Modern biotechnological methods in wastewater treatment: a review

Given that water is the main solvent in living organisms as well as in domestic and industrial activities, it must be treated as carefully as possible after multiple uses to get a harmless water quality. To remove the undesirable materials (e.g. organic matters, surfactants, petroleum products, unwanted metals, dyes, et.), the physicochemical water treatment process is used as the common method. This method of wastewater treatment uses flocculation – coagulation technique, which consists of mixing coagulant matters with water to collect, in solid clusters, the materials in suspension by gravity. Recently, environmental scientists have suggested biotechnology methods as the main alternatives in the treatment of wastewater, as they offer more benefits to the water quality and human health than chemical methods. This paper describes and assesses some modern biotechnology methods used in wastewater treatment.

Super-bridging fibrous materials for water treatment

To deal with issues of process sustainability, cost, and efficiency, we developed materials reengineered from fibers to serve as super-bridging agents, adsorbents, and ballast media. These sustainable fiber-based materials considerably increased the floc size (~6,630 µm) compared to conventional physicochemical treatment using a coagulant and a flocculant (~520 µm). The materials also reduced coagulant usage (up to 40%) and flocculant usage (up to 60%). These materials could be used in synergy with coagulants and flocculants to improve settling in existing water treatment processes and allow facilities to reduce their capital and operating costs as well as their environmental footprint. Moreover, the super-sized flocs produced using fiber-based materials (up to ~13 times larger compared to conventional treatment) enabled easy floc removal by screening, eliminating the need for a settling tank, a large and costly process unit. The materials can be effective solutions at removing classical (e.g., natural organic matter (NOM) and phosphorus) and emerging contaminants (e.g., microplastics and nanoplastics). Due to their large size, Si- and Fe-grafted fiber-based materials can be easily recovered from sludge and reused multiple times.

Computer simulation application for substantiation of industrial wastewater treatment technology

The wastewater treatment of the mining industrial enterprises is implemented using mechanical, chemical, biological and physic-chemical methods. The mechanical treatment is used to prepare wastewater for biological, physicochemical and other methods of the deep treatment. In recent years, the field of the physicochemical treatment methods application has been expanding, and their share among other methods has increased. The Mining Institute of the Kola Science Centre of the RAS has been developed a technology of the industrial wastewater treatment based on the synergetic effect of the pollution concentrating in a multiphase medium with formed surface properties of the phases, tested at the mining enterprises of the Kola MMC (Lovozero GOK LLC and Kovdor GOK) and including coagulation, sorption and flotation in activated water dispersion of air. To substantially reduce the cost, duration and complexity of the process of the developing wastewater treatment methods at mining enterprises, an approach based on the use of the mathematical and computer simulation methods, the development of the virtual laboratory benches that fully reproduce the technological processes and devices used. The mathematical simulation of the fine particles coagulation and aggregation in the process of the industrial wastewater treatment from dissolved impurities was carried out. The simulation made it possible to reveal the kinetics of the adsorption process of the contaminants components by the surface of the formed iron hydroxide colloidal particles, which determines the size and lifetime of the floccules. A virtual laboratory stand was created to study the water treatment processes based on the ANSYS Fluent software. This stand simulates the operation of the Outotec radial thickener with a diameter of 30 meters, which made it possible to develop recommendations for the technological regimes optimization for the greater particle aggregation efficiency. The possibility of the application in the technology the column flotation machine – an analogue of the flotation machine of the Canadian Process Technologies Inc. CETCO, was considered.The authors appreciate participation of Junior Researcher A. S. Kitaeva A. S. in the work on the article’s material.

Effect of physico-chemical treatments on the vitality of Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae) in Algeria: effect of provenances on germination and seed emergence

Effect of physico-chemical treatments on the vitality of Pistacia atlantica Desf. (Anacardiaceae) in Algeria: effect of provenances on germination and seed emergence

Combined Electrocoagulation and Physicochemical Treatment of Cork Boiling Wastewater

Cork boiling wastewater (CBW) is a highly polluted and difficult to treat effluent resultant from the cork manufacturing industry. This study aims to evaluate a new, reliable, efficient, and sustainable process to treat this effluent. This paper tested electrocoagulation as a pre- and post-treatment to improve the already existing physicochemical treatment in a cork production facility in Portugal. In the physicochemical procedures (PC), the addition of different volumes of coagulant (ferric chloride (III) 40% w/w), neutralizer (sodium hydroxide, 32% w/w), and flocculant (polyacrylamide, 0.2 g/L) were evaluated. Electrocoagulation (EC) was performed in a bench-scale reactor, using aluminum and stainless-steel electrodes. For EC, different initial pH, current density, and current tension values were tested. When electrocoagulation was used as a post-treatment, better performances were achieved. However, treatment costs were increased significantly. Coagulation/flocculation offers a viable and cheap treatment, achieving removal efficiencies of 88.2%, 81.0%, 76.9%, and 94.2% for total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD), respectively. With a PC-EC combination, it is possible to achieve removal efficiencies of 92.4%, 88.0%, 91.4%, and 91.4% for tCOD, TC, TN, and sCOD, respectively. The increased TN removal efficiency can translate into great benefits for certain discharge conditions and should be taken into consideration for improving the sustainability of cork industry. On the other hand, when EC is used as a pre-treatment, there are no benefits either in terms of treatment performance or operating costs.

Comparative studies for the treatment of industrial effluents employing advanced processes: towards enhancement of environmental performance

The investigation was inspired by the declaration of critically polluted industrial zones in India. It was also reported that most of the Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) are non-compliant due to higher COD values in discharge than regulatory norms. Furthermore, most of the literature has not reported the efficacy of advanced wastewater technologies for real industrial effluent. Thus, this research focused on field trials of scalable advanced wastewater technologies in Vatva Industrial Estate (VIE), Ahmedabad. The potential of physico-chemical and advanced treatment processes are explored for applicability in industrial wastewater treatment. Thus, for this research, three industries from each sector, i.e., textile processing, dyes, and dye intermediates, a total of nine different industries were chosen. A sufficient volume of effluent was collected from each industry for detailed investigations. The initial COD loading observed was in the range of 68 to 7074, 30 to 896, and 100 to 1541 kg COD/day for textile processing, dyes, and dye intermediates, respectively, with significant variation in the qualitative profiles. The collected effluent was treated by electrocoagulation and Fenton's reagent in batch scale reactors. The batch scale reactors for both the technologies were of 1L size. The results of treatability studies represented that Fenton's reagent performed better than the electrocoagulation process for most of the industries selected in this study. This research provides insight for improvement in the environmental performance of the individual industries in general and CETPs in particular.

Efficient removal of ibuprofen and ofloxacin pharmaceuticals using biofilm reactors for hospital wastewater treatment

Hospital wastewater is harmful to the environment and human health due to its complex chemical composition and high potency towards becoming a source of disease outbreaks. Due to these complexities, its treatment is neither efficient nor cost-effective. It is a challenging issue that requires immediate attention. This effort focuses on the treatment of hospital wastewater (HWW) by removing two selected drugs, namely ibuprofen (IBU) and ofloxacin (OFX) using individual biological treatment methods, such as moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR) and physicochemical treatment, such as ozonation and peroxane process. The both methods are compared to find the best method overall based on effectiveness and removal efficiency. The optimal removal for ozone dosing range was nitrate (9.00% and 62.00%), biological oxygen demand (BOD) (92.00% and 64.00%), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (96.00% and 92.00%) that required at least 10 min to reach considerable degradation. The MBBR process assured a better performance for ibuprofen removal, overall. The IBU and OFX removal was found to be 14.32–96.00% at a higher COD value and 11.33–94.00% at a lower COD value due to its biodegradation. This work strives to pave the way forward to build an HWW treatment technology using integrated MBBR processes for better efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Optimization of the coagulation-flocculation process for vegetable oil refinery wastewater using a full factorial design

Vegetable oil refineries wastewater poses significant challenges to treatment techniques due to its characteristic fluctuations. In this study, a full factorial design (FFD) was applied to investigate the effect of the experimental variable (pH, coagulant dose, flocculant dose, and pollutant load) for the turbidity (Y1) and COD (Y2) removal by the coagulation-flocculation process. The results showed that the linear regression models were well suited to the experimental data, with correlation coefficients R2adj of 0.96 and 0.9 for Y1 and Y2, respectively. According to the ANOVA analysis, linear effects were detected significantly for the four factors examined on turbidity and COD removal. This study has shown that coagulation-flocculation is effective for turbidity removal, regardless of the pollutant load of wastewater. Under optimal conditions using 1 g L−1 FeCl3 and 1 mL L−1 cationic polymer at a pH = 8, the turbidity removal reaches 82% and 97.5% for a low and high pollution load, respectively. In contrast, the COD removal reaches 79.5% and 58% for low and high pollution loads, respectively. These results prove that the efficiency of physicochemical treatment in organic matter removal is more effective in less polluting industrial wastewater. This strongly suggests that a physical pretreatment is a promising option for the best efficiency of coagulation-flocculation.

Demonstration of a plant-microbe integrated system for treatment of real-time textile industry wastewater

The real-time textile dyes wastewater contains hazardous and recalcitrant chemicals that are difficult to degrade by conventional methods. Such pollutants, when released without proper treatment into the environment, impact water quality and usage. Hence, the textile dye effluent is considered a severe environmental pollutant. It contains mixed contaminants like dyes, sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid. The physico-chemical treatment of these wastewaters produces a large amount of sludge and costly. Acceptance of technology by the industry mandates that it should be efficient, cost-effective and the treated water is safe for reuse. A sequential anaerobic-aerobic plant-microbe system with acclimatized microorganisms and vetiver plants, was evaluated at a pilot-scale on-site. At the end of the sequential process, decolorization and total aromatic amine (TAA) removal were 78.8% and 69.2% respectively. Analysis of the treated water at various stages using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)) Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) indicated that the dyes were decolourized and the aromatic amine intermediates formed were degraded to give aliphatic compounds. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis showed interaction of microbe with the roots of vetiver plants. Toxicity analysis with zebrafish indicated the removal of toxins and teratogens.

A critical review of the recently developed laboratory-scale municipal solid waste landfill leachate treatment technologies

Leachate contamination poses a serious risk to water resources. Therefore sustainable treatment techniques are essential to protect the environment and public health. The study provides a comprehensive review of leachate treatment technologies with a critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations. The choice of technology is highly dependent on the capital and operating cost, types of leachate, and regulatory standards. The study observed that aerobic biological treatment (e.g., lagoons, constructed wetlands) and physicochemical treatment (e.g., air stripping, coagulation, flocculation, etc.) are suitable to remove organic substances. While the above technologies have limitations in treating heavy metals and ammonia. On the other hand, adsorption and advanced oxidation are very effective in treating old leachate that contains heavy metals and NH3-N. But the process needs pretreatment and expensive chemicals supply, which is unsustainable. Advanced oxidation can efficiently remove COD, especially from matured leachates due to the complete degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants. Still, it seems ineffective for young leachates with high organic pollutant loads. The review also identifies the cost for chemicals and energy needed to treat different leachates with each specific technology. Therefore, innovative techniques are required that will minimize energy consumption, sludge and toxin production, and recover organic, inorganic, xenobiotic compounds in a harmless phase and maximize their beneficial applications.

Production Tests of the Don Water Purification and Disinfection Technology

One of the promising ways to reduce the content of organic pollutants in natural waters is the use of biological processes in combination with sorption on powdered activated carbon followed by membrane filtration and, as the final stage, disinfection of the obtained permeate by direct electrolysis. The paper presents the results of the efficiency of purification of the Don water, which underwent physicochemical treatment from halogen-organic contaminants in a biosorption-membrane reactor and the dependencies characterizing the disinfection of water by direct electrolysis in a flow-through membraneless electrolyzer. The studies were carried out using powdered active carbon, hollow fiber, and flat plate membranes. An oxide iridium-ruthenium titanium anode (OIRTA) was used as electrodes in a flow-through electrolyzer. As a result of processing the experimental results, the efficiency of removing not only the turbidity and color of water, but also organic substances, which cause high permanganate oxidizability and COD, has been established. The results of experimental studies have shown a high efficiency of purification and disinfection of natural water to the requirements of SanPiN. The efficiency of COD reduction was on average 41.2%, color - 57.3%, permanganate oxidizability - 33.3%.

Enhanced production of microalgae-originated photosensitizer by integrating photosynthetic electrons extraction and antibiotic induction towards photocatalytic degradation of antibiotic: A novel complementary treatment process for antibiotic removal from effluent of conventional biological wastewater treatment

Antibiotic residues in effluents from bio-treated wastewaters are mainly responsible for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. Conventional physicochemical treatments are thought to be unsustainable due to high energy consumption, large consumption of chemicals and environmental unfriendly processing step. In this study, a novel approach by integrating photosynthetic electrons extraction from microalgae with antibiotic induction was used to enhance the production of microalgae-originated photosensitizer for photolytic removal of antibiotic residues in effluents from conventional bio-treated wastewaters. Results showed that the accumulation of photoactive substances in extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of chlorella vulgaris was positively related to the amounts of photosynthetic electrons extracted by the electrode which is a potential-dependent process and can be further enhanced by tetracycline (TC) induction. The protein and humic acid which are considered two main photoactive substances in EPS produced at 0.6 V accumulated to a high level of 320 and 24 μg/cm3 and were further increased to 380 and 48 μg/cm3 when TC was added which were 4.7 and 6.4-folds higher than that produced at potential free in the absence of TC. The EPS produced at 0.6 and 0.8 V led to 1.34 and 1.53-fold acceleration in photosensitized degradation of TC compared to that of EPS free in secondary effluent of municipal wastewater treatment plant. The complex heterocyclic ring structure of TC was broken down into simple monocyclic aromatic compounds, indicating a marked reduction in biotoxicity and recalcitrance. The hydroxyl radical played a main role for the photolysis of TC followed by singlet oxygen. This technology provides a new alternative to conventional physicochemical treatment as complementary treatment processes for biological wastewater treatment in terms of antibiotics removal.

Wastewater Treatment for Mercury and Arresting Mercury Contaminants Movement Within Industrial Soil

We have proposed optimal methods of treating both the waste- and stormwater for metallic and soluble mercury within the soil of mercury-based chlorine- and sodium-hydroxide production sites. The problem has been solved by combining physical, chemical and physicochemical treatment methods. Through the use of various filtering materials, coagulants and flocculants followed by sorption through AB-17-8 and Lewatit TR-214 ion exchangers, the level of mercury within wastewater has been decreased by about 99.9%. Demercurization of mercury-contaminated areas to the complete extraction of metallic mercury has been carried out by draining and the subsequent transfer of water-based compounds into a stable form through chemical immobilization without any prior soil removal. To achieve the aforesaid result we have treated the soil with stearic-acid salts solutions, which resulted in almost complete arrest of mercury within the soil.

Effect of alkalinization and ultra-high-pressure homogenization on casein micelles in raw and pasteurized skim milk

Mechanical and physicochemical treatments of milk induce structural modifications of the casein (CN) micelles, affecting their techno-functional properties in dairy processing. Here, we studied the effect of alkalinization and ultra-high-pressure homogenization (UHPH) on CN micelles in raw skim milk (rSM) and pasteurized skim milk (pSM). The pH of both skim milks (approximately 6.7) was adjusted to 8.5 and 10.5 before UHPH at 100, 200, and 300 MPa. The structural changes of the CN micelles during the treatments were assessed using laser diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and turbidity measurements. Finally, ultracentrifugation (70,000 × g for 1 h at 20°C) was carried out to evaluate the protein's distribution between the supernatant (serum phase) and the pellet (colloidal phase) by gel electrophoresis and protein concentration measurement. Alkalinization of both skim milks induced a significant reduction in turbidity, whereas an increase of the average particle size was observed, the effect being more severe in pSM than rSM. At alkaline pH, more proteins were recovered in the serum phase, which suggested that the CN underwent major rearrangements into nonsedimentable CN forms of various sizes, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The amount of CN found in the serum phase at pH 8.5 also increased with the UHPH pressure. Although UHPH did not influence the average CN micelle size at pH 6.7 and 8.5, a pressure-dependent decrease was observed at pH 10.5 for both skim milks. The structural changes of the CN micelles observed in this study throughout the combination of alkalinization and UHPH could be of interest for developing new dairy ingredients with improved functionality.

Development of humic acid based adsorbents for fast and efficient removal of ammonia and organic nitrogen from super magnetic separation treated wastewater

Although super magnetic separation technology (SMS) displayed great potential in removing pollutants from wastewater, the effluent was failed to meet wastewater discharge standard due to relatively high ammonia (AN) and organic nitrogen (ON). In this study, the carbonated and sulfonated humic acid (SCHA) adsorbent was optimally prepared for removing AN from wastewater. Then, based on the carbonated HA with iron loading (CHA-Fe) in our previous study, HA based mixed adsorbent, combining SCHA with CHA-Fe was directly used to simultaneously adsorb AN and ON in wastewater. The optimally prepared SCHA showed fast and efficient adsorption of AN with removal efficiency of around 60% within 40 min, which was ascribed to the function of strong electrostatic interaction by the successfully introduced –SO3-, but cations like Ca2+, Mg2+ and Al3+ significantly reduced AN adsorption. The adsorption data were adjacent with the Langmuir adsorption model with monolayer coverage and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The calculated maximum adsorption capacity on AN was 12.84 mg/g at 298 K, which was higher than most of the other forms of materials. The thermodynamics of AN adsorption was found to be a spontaneous and exothermic process. In addition, the mixed adsorbent could simultaneously and efficiently adsorb AN and ON from wastewater with the removal efficiency of more than 75% under a wide pH range from 6 to10. It was mainly because the mixed adsorbent could automatically regulate solution pH to neutral range, in which electrostatic adsorption of AN by SCHA and coordinated adsorption of ON by CHA-Fe was intensified. When applied in treating actual wastewater after SMS, the mixed adsorbent could fast and effectively make the wastewater meet the discharge standard (level A) in China (GB18918-2002) through regulating mixed adsorbent dosage. This work provided theoretical and technical basis for physicochemical wastewater treatment processes and developed a new strategy for treating wastewater containing AN and various organics.

Enhancement of wastewater treatment performance using 3D printed structures: A major focus on material composition, performance, challenges, and sustainable assessment

In order to enhance the performance and sustainability of wastewater treatment technologies, researchers are showing keen interest in the development of novel materials which can overcome the drawbacks associated with conventional materials. In this context, 3D printing gained significant attention due to its capability of fabricating complex geometrics using different material compositions. The present review focuses on recent advancements of 3D printing applications in various physicochemical and biological wastewater treatment techniques. In physicochemical treatment methods, substantial research has been aimed at fabricating feed spacers and other membrane parts, photocatalytic feed spacers, catalysts, scaffolds, monoliths, and capsules. Several advantages, such as membrane fouling mitigation, enhanced degradation efficiency, and recovery and reusability potential, have been associated with the aforementioned 3D printed materials. While in biofilm-based biological treatment methods, the use of 3D printed bio-carriers has led to enhanced mass transfer efficiency and microbial activities. Moreover, the application of these bio-carriers has shown better removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (∼90%), total nitrogen (∼73%), ammonia nitrogen (95%), and total phosphorous (∼100%). Although the removal efficiencies were comparable with conventional carriers, 3D printed carriers led to ∼40% reduction in hydraulic retention time, which could significantly save capital and operational expenditures. This review also emphasizes the challenges and sustainability aspects of 3D printing technology and outlines future recommendations which could be vital for further research in this field.

Bioremediation Of Polluted Waters Using Nanoparticles

Water pollution is an issue of great concern worldwide, contamination by organic compounds, inorganic compounds and microorganisms. Bioremediation using microorganisms helps in the removal of toxic metals from the environment. The focus is on the heavy metals associated with environmental contamination, lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) which are potentially hazardous to ecosystems. In the present study textile effluent was collected, and subjected to Physicochemical treatment methods , Herbal-Metal nanocomposite was prepared and used to treat textile effluents. As a bioremediation study, the plant growth potential of treated effluents was evaluated using pot studies of an aquatic plant .Laboratory and field test results confirmed superior bioremediation efficiency and long-term effect. When compared to today’s most-efficient bioremediation technologies there is an efficient, fast, safe, and inexpensive way to clean up polluted waters through acceleration of natural bioremediation process. Nanotechnology provides an economical, convenient and ecofriendly means of wastewater remediation. The results obtained in this study shall be carried out as future studies using different types and concentrations of nanoparticles for the treatment of any types of effluents causing land and water pollution. There is a growing need for the development of novel, efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach for the remediation of inorganic metals released into the environment and to safeguard the ecosystem. In this regard, recent advances in microbes-base heavy metal have propelled bioremediation as a prospective alternative to conventional techniques.

EVALUATION OF DAIRY EFFLUENT DETOXIFICATION AND REMOVAL EFFICIENCY IN AN INTEGRATED WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM USING LOW-COST ADSORBENTS

Dairy effluent typically contains lipids, lactose, and whey proteins, all of which contribute to a rise in biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and other water parameters. Physicochemical characteristics of wastewater can be reduced by biological, chemical, and Physicochemical treatments. The adsorption technique is attractive for the removal of organic compounds in wastewater among the numerous Physicochemical treatment methods. Two low-cost adsorbents were chosen for this work, and a comparative analysis was performed. The goal of this study was to find a new application of rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash. When rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash were employed, the removal of organic pollutants, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and other parameters from dairy effluent were evaluated and compared. The organic pollutants, color, biological oxygen demand, and chemical oxygen demand have all been removed from dairy effluent using rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash as adsorbents. At room temperature, rice husk ash adsorbents were reported to remove up to 73.11 % of biological oxygen demand, with a maximum dose of 800mg/L, whereas sugarcane bagasse adsorbents were removed 78.17 % with the same dose. The Chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency was also evaluated and compared to rice husk ash and sugarcane bagasse ash which were 89.12% and 81.23%, respectively with a dosage of 800 mg/L at 7.4 pH.

Decolorization of textile dyes by edible white rot fungi

Properly disposing of wastewater-containing textile dyes has long been a problem for the textile industry. An innovative method, biodegradation, can degrade certain dyes more efficiently and in a more environmentally-friendly method than the commonly used physicochemical treatments. Fungus is one of the materials capable of biodegradation without requiring further processing. In this study, we tested the edible fungi, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus eryngii, and Pleurotus ostreatus, to see if they can used for a biodegradation of dyes. The textile dyes were applied into the suspension of these fungi for a biodegradation test, and the absorbance changes were recorded. After a reaction of one and a half hours, aniline blue dye and Congo red dye demonstrate the greatest degradation, reaching a biodegradation rate of 67.39–67.5% and 58.1–63.2%, respectively. Even the methylene blue dye that had the lowest degradation reached a biodegradation rate of 24.7–33.6%. These results show the fungi’s capability to decolorize the dyes, presenting a potential method for biodegrading textile pollution and the possibility of using natural products to reduce polluted wastewater.

Uticaj tretmana netermalnom plazmom na kristaliničnost celuloze i sadržaj lignina u kukuruznoj stabljici

Lignocellulosic biomass is a cheap raw material that, thanks to its high carbohydrate content, can be used in fermentation to produce biofuels, biogas and other compounds. Its complex structure, including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, requires prior treatment of the biomass to facilitate hydrolysis to simple sugars. Today, biomass is only partially utilized and generates about 14% of the world's energy. This is because the most commonly used physical, chemical and physicochemical treatments are not sustainable. They are energy-consuming but still low in productivity and toxic inhibitors formed during these treatments could hinder later steps of fermentation. Biomass treatment with advanced oxidation techniques has great potential as an environmentally friendly, so-called "green" treatment. These processes generate reactive species (radicals, electrons, ions and peroxides) that attack cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin components. In this work, the effects of non-thermal plasma, the Fenton process, and the combined treatment of corn stalks with non-thermal plasma/Fenton were compared. Grounded biomass of corn stalks was mixed with Fenton reagent and hydrogen peroxide at different ratios and subjected to non-thermal plasma treatment. Carbohydrate content was decreased in non-thermal plasma treated samples both with and without Fe2+. However, a specific biomass: Fe2+:H2O2 ratio was required to achieve the highest rate of lignocellulose decomposition. The cellulose and hemicellulose fractions were affected and reduced by the treatments studied but resulted in almost no changes in the cellulose crystallinity index. The lower lignin content and cellulose crystallinity allow for more efficient enzyme hydrolysis of the treated lignocellulose and new options for valorization in fermentations.