Zero-Liquid Discharge Treatment of Wastewater from a Fertilizer Factory

This article describes the improvement of wastewater treatment in a fertilizer plant located in Central Italy (municipality of Vasto). In this facility, water is used for the removal of dust and fluorinated gases from the air. The resulting wastewater contains fluorides and phosphates in hazardous f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2020-01, Vol.12 (1), p.397
Main Authors: Zueva, Svetlana B., Ferella, Francesco, Taglieri, Giuliana, De Michelis, Ida, Pugacheva, Inna, Vegliò, Francesco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Caustic soda
Chloride
Experiments
Fertilizer industry wastewater
Fertilizers
Fluidized bed reactors
Fluorides
Gases
Hazardous materials
Manufacturing
Methods
Phosphates
Phosphorus
Potassium
Raw materials
Reagents
Recovering
Recycled materials
Separation
Sodium
Sustainability
Wastewater discharges
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment plants
Water reuse
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Summary:This article describes the improvement of wastewater treatment in a fertilizer plant located in Central Italy (municipality of Vasto). In this facility, water is used for the removal of dust and fluorinated gases from the air. The resulting wastewater contains fluorides and phosphates in hazardous forms. Its treatment ordinarily does not result in a Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) process. To achieve this purpose, several reagents were tested, focusing on the correlation linking pH, type of reagent and the effect on the separation of fluorides and phosphates from the wastewater. It was eventually found, and explained with a model, that hydrated lime at pH = 12 was so effective as a precipitating agent that phosphate and fluoride separation reached a value of 99.9%, thus allowing for reuse of the water in the plant process. Furthermore, phosphates and fluorides precipitated in a non-hazardous form, so that the material could also be recycled. In synthesis, wastewater treatment of the fertilizer plant was upgraded so that it became a ZLD process coupled with the recovery and recycling of fluorides and phosphates.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12010397