Real Petroleum Refinery Wastewater Research Articles

Removal of chemical oxygen demand from real petroleum refinery wastewater through a hybrid approach: Electrocoagulation and adsorption

In the Algiers refinery's effluent treatment plant (ETP), conventional methods fall short in handling highly concentrated liquid effluents, especially in biological treatment. Consequently, there's an urgent need for advanced pre-treatment. This study investigated the efficacy of a hybrid adsorption electrocoagulation (AD-EC) process for treating Algiers refinery effluent. The study focused on assessing the AD-EC method's capacity to remove crucial contaminants: COD, turbidity, and TSS. In the EC process, aluminum electrodes were used, and activated carbon was the adsorbent. Unfavorable operational conditions were applied for hybrid AD-EC processes including the adsorbent dosage, current density, and electrolysis duration. The SEM/EDS and BET were employed to analyze the solid generated. The result indicated that the hybrid process presented an economy of the treatment time, and was well efficient in removing COD, TSS, and turbidity. The treatment resulted in removing 82 % of COD, 96.5 % of turbidity, and 98.64 % of TSS, all well within the specified range of discharge limits set by Algeria. Likewise, these results confirm a synergistic effect between AD and EC. Moreover, this hybrid approach offers potential as a practical tertiary treatment step, enhancing the effluent quality and overall biological treatment efficiency, and providing a promising solution to the ETP.

BIOELECTROCHEMICAL TREATMENT MECHANISMS OF PETROLUME REFINERY WASTEWATER IN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF MICROBIAL FUEL CELL-CONSTRUCTED WETLAND

Three identically designed systems named designate as MFC-CW, CW1,and CW2 were constructed and setup in this study for simultaneous biotreatment of real petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW) and bioelectricity generation. The three systems were planted with emergent wetland plant of Canna indica. These systems were operated simultaneously in a single batch mode to identify the dominant mechanism for organics removal from PRW. The operation period for each cycle was 8 days. Results demonstrated that maximum removal efficiency of the organic content represented as chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 96.5%, 89.3%, and 91% observed in MFC-CW, CW1, and CW2, respectively, whereby, the highest power generated in MFC-CW only was 12.36 mW/m2. The potential convergence of the results in the three systems indicated that the dominant mechanism of organic content removal from PRW was via bioelectrochemical reactions by the anodic biofilm in the MFC.

Perspectives of electrochemical oxidation parameters in PRW treatment

Electrochemical oxidation as an efficient route of advanced electrochemical oxidation process AEOP had been successfully applied for the treatment of real petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW). The electrochemical oxidation was performed using batch electrochemical reactor with carbon felt anode to be compared with β-PbO2 anode. However, these anodic materials have higher oxygen evolution over potential and poor electrocatalysts for parasitic reactions with low cost. The experimental work considers a scope of operative and design parameters that influence the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of wastewater of a real national oil refinery effluent. Accordingly, a well-designed reactor accomplished to treat wastewater samples of 500-510 mg/L initial COD to study the effect of anode material, current density, and temperature on COD removal and oxidation kinetic. The results showed that the COD removal efficiency exhibits an exponential behaviour with the applied current density of more than 10 mA cm−2 indicating first-order reaction kinetics, and the reaction rate constant accurately estimated. Moreover, the impacts of pH and agitation speed on reaction rate constant were also studied.

Treatment of real petroleum refinery wastewater with alternative ferrous-assisted UV/persulfate homogeneous processes

Treatment of real petroleum refinery wastewater with alternative ferrous-assisted UV/persulfate homogeneous processes

Evaluation of Direct Anodic Oxidation Process for the Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater

AbstractThis paper investigates the treatment of real petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW) using an electrochemical oxidation process. Direct anodic oxidation, an effective advanced electrochemical ...

Mn-Fe-Mg-Ce loaded Al 2 O 3 catalyzed ozonation for mineralization of refractory organic chemicals in petroleum refinery wastewater

Abstract There is great interest in designing a cost-efficient catalytic ozonation system for refractory wastewater treatment. A novel Mn-Fe-Mg-Ce loaded Al 2 O 3 (Mn-Fe-Mg-Ce/Al 2 O 3 ) was developed to catalytically ozonate real petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW). The loadings, calcination temperature and impregnation sequence of metals significantly influenced the catalytic performance. An optimized catalyst was consisted of 2.2% MnO, 2.2% Fe 2 O 3 , 0.9% MgO and 0.9% CeO 2 . Mg and Ce were co-impregnated and then calcinated at 550 °C, followed by Mn and Fe co-impregnation and calcination at 550 °C. Mg and Ce oxides pre-loaded on the catalyst promoted an even surface distribution of multivalent Mn (Mn 4+ , Mn 3+ and Mn 2+ ) and Fe oxides (Fe 3+ and Fe 2+ ). Such evenly distributed Mn, Fe, Mg and Ce oxides greatly facilitated the hydroxyl radical generation, thus promoted mineralization of refractory organic chemicals in PRW. The Mn-Fe-Mg-Ce/Al 2 O 3 catalyzed ozonation doubled removal of total organic carbon in PRW relative to single ozonation. About 54% polar chemicals were removed, and 60% naphthenic acids and naphthenic acid esters were eliminated, indicating a high degree of mineralization. This study illustrates a potential of Mn-Fe-Mg-Ce/Al 2 O 3 catalyzed ozonation for advanced treatment of refractory wastewaters.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in petroleum refinery wastewater over nano-TiO2 supported on Fe-ZSM-5

The photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in a real petroleum refinery wastewater (PRWW) by a heterogeneous photocatalytic process using synthesized nano-TiO2 supported on Fe-ZSM-5 zeolite as photocatalyst irradiated with UV light has been studied. The influence of various operational parameters such as photocatalyst concentration, pH and temperature was investigated. The degradation rates of the organic pollutants followed mainly a pseudo-first order kinetic model. Results showed that the maximum photodegradation efficiency was achieved at a photocatalyst concentration of 3g/l, pH of 4 and temperature of 45°C under UV irradiation time of 120min. TiO2 loaded with the existence of oxo-iron ions in the framework of zeolite increased photocatalytic degradation of COD. The kinetics of photodegradation reaction was accelerated by an increase in temperature in the range of 15–45°C. The activation energy for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in PRWW was 18.76kJ/mol. Thermodynamic parameters of activation were assessed in the photodegradation process. Kinetics computation using transition state theory (TST) showed that the temperature had a significant effect on the rate constants during the photocatalytic degradation process. Significant photodegradation efficiency of organic pollutants using the synthesized photocatalyst indicates a good potential for this technique as a treatment system for real PRWW.

A real petroleum refinery wastewater treatment using hollow fiber membrane bioreactor (HF-MBR)

In this paper, the capability of hollow-fiber membrane bioreactor (HF-MBR) for real petroleum refinery wastewater treatment was studied. A pilot immersed HF-MBR was designed, and the treatment investigated under various hydraulic retention time (HRT), flux, temperature, and different operational conditions. The bioreactor included an ultrafiltration membrane (UF) and Arak refinery wastewater used as the influent stream. The HF-MBR was running throughout 160 days. The result indicated that average elimination efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS) and turbidity were attained 82%, 89%, 98%, 99%, and 98%, respectively. Furthermore, the mixed liquor-suspended solid (MLSS) and mixed liquor volatile-suspended solids (MLVSS) concentration raised from minimal concentration to about 6.6 and 6.1g/L, respectively.

Performance of constant-flux immersed UF membrane treating petroleum refinery wastewater

Application of immersed membrane process in treating synthetic and real petroleum refinery wastewater was investigated. The synthetic wastewater investigation was operated at constant flux mode (15, 25, and 40 l/m2 h) allowing the transmembrane pressure (TMP) to increase with time and oil contents of 20, 50, and 100 mg/l. On the other hand, the real wastewater study was conducted at permeate flux values of 15, 25, and 40 l/m2 h. The results of the investigation showed that the membrane performance was dramatically affected by wastewater oil content and permeate flux values. The maximum allowable TMP value of 9 ψ was found to be reached frequently with the increase in permeate flux and oil content that resulted in more backwashing and cleaning cycles. As an example, at flux value of 40 l/m2 h, the membrane module was backwashed 9, 12, and 30 times when oil contents were 20, 50, and 100 mg/l, respectively. Moreover, fouling resistance was found to increase when permeate flux and oil content increased.

Adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from wastewater by using silica-based organic–inorganic nanohybrid material

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of priority pollutants, which are classified as persistent hazardous contaminants. Herein, the adsorption of three PAHs, naphthalene (NAP), acenaphthylene (ACN), and phenanthrene (PHN), from wastewater onto NH2-SBA-15 organic–inorganic nanohybrid material as a function of pH of the media (2–10), sorbent dosage (0.5–3.5 g L−1), PAH concentration (1–18 mg g−1), and temperature (25–45 °C) were elucidated. The prepared adsorbents were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractions, and thermogravimetric analysis. Among Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherms models, it was found that the Langmuir model gave an excellent overall fit (R2 > 0.97). The maximum adsorption capacity of 1.92, 1.41, and 0.76 mg g−1 was obtained for NAP, ACN, and PHN, respectively. Adsorption kinetics of PAHs onto NH2-SBA-15 was in accordance with the pseudo-second-order model, providing evidence that pore mass transferring was involved. PAHs' adsorption was strongly dependent on temperature, and confirmed the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the process. The optimized sorption condition was successfully applied to the real petroleum refinery wastewater samples and the adsorption capacity of NH2-SBA-15 was satisfactory for PAHs' studies as 1.67, 1.06, and 0.24 mg g−1 for NAP, ACN and PHN, respectively. Furthermore, reusability was successfully tested by five sequential recoveries.

Extraction of Phenolic Pollutants (Phenol and p-Chlorophenol) from Industrial Wastewater

The efficiency of five new solvents as a selective solvent in the extraction of phenol and p-chlorophenol from wastewater was investigated. The phenols samples were collected from real petroleum refinery wastewater and from an experimentaly prepared aqueous phenol solution. In this work, data have been estimated for 10 systems containing, phenol + water or p-chlorophenol + water as a common component liquid and + five solvents [ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, poly(ethylene glycol) (200), dimethylsulfoxide and tetramethylene sulfolone (sulfolane)]. The consistency and accuracy of the tie-line data were evaluated using three correlation relations namely, Bachman, Hand, and Othmer, and Tobias correlation. The Plait Point for each ternary system was estimated. Among the five solvents used to extract the phenol or p-chlorophenol from wastewater, diethylene glycol (DEG) has the highest selectivity and distribution coefficient and the greatest differences between its boiling point and density and those of ph...

PHENOL BIODEGRADATION BY RALSTONIA PICKETTII EXTRACTED FROM PETROLEUM REFINERY OIL SLUDGE

Phenol-degrading bacterial strains have been extracted from oil-sludge samples collected from a local refinery. A selective medium was used to isolate the active strain capable of utilizing phenol as a sole carbon source, which was identified as Ralstonia pickettii. The growth kinetics of mixed and isolated R. pickettii suspensions were investigated using different initial concentrations of phenol in the range of 25 to 200 g m−3 at 35°C and pH of 8.5. The results were compared to those of a commercially available mixed bacterial suspension, which was either acclimatized to 100 g m−3 phenol concentration, extracted from PVA particles that were subjected to real petroleum refinery wastewater containing phenol, or an isolated active strain grown on a selective medium that was identified as Pseudomonas putida. The effect of substrate inhibition was observed using all bacterial suspensions, and the growth results were used to determine the parameters of a suitable kinetic model. It was found that the phenol biodegradation ability of the indigenous bacteria, R. pickettii, isolated from refinery sludge was comparable to that of the commercially available bacteria.

Organic Pollutants Removal from Petroleum Refinery Wastewater with Nanotitania Photocatalyst and UV Light Emission

A real petroleum refinery wastewater, containing a range of aliphatic and aromatic organic compounds, was treated using nanotitania particles, as the photocatalyst in UV/TiO2process. Samples were collected from the inlet point of the biological treatment unit. A conic-shape, circulating, and upward mixing reactor, without dead zone, was employed. The light source was an immersed mercury UV lamp (400 W, 200–550 nm). Optimal suspended catalyst concentration, fluid pH, and temperature were obtained at amounts of near 100 mg·L−1, 3 and 45°C, respectively. A maximum reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) of more than 78% was achieved after about 120 min and, hence, 72% after only 90 min. Significant pollutant degradation was also relevant under other conditions. The identification analysis of the organic pollutants, provided by means of a GC/MS, equipped with headspace injection technique, showed that different petroleum compounds were degraded with high efficiencies.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Aniline Using TiO2Nanoparticles in a Vertical Circulating Photocatalytic Reactor

Photocatalytic degradation of aniline in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ultraviolet (UV) illumination was performed in a vertical circulating photocatalytic reactor. The effects of catalyst concentration (0–80 mg/L), initial pH (2–12), temperature (293–323 K), and irradiation time (0–120 min) on aniline photodegradation were investigated in order to obtain the optimum operational conditions. The results reveal that the aniline degradation efficiency can be effectively improved by increasing pH from 2 to 12 and temperature from 313 to 323 K. Besides, the effect of temperature on aniline photo degradation was found to be unremarkable in the range of 293–313 K. The optimum catalyst concentration was about 60 mg/L. The Langmuir Hinshelwood kinetic model could successfully elucidate the effects of the catalyst concentration, pH, and temperature on the rate of heterogeneous photooxidation of aniline. The data obtained by applying the Langmuir Hinshelwood treatment are consistent with the available kinetic parameters. The activated energy for the photocatalytic degradation of aniline is 20.337 kj/mol. The possibility of the reactor use in the treatment of a real petroleum refinery wastewater was also investigated. The results of the experiments indicated that it can therefore be potentially applied for the treatment of wastewater contaminated by different organic pollutants.