Combined coagulation/decantation-ozone/hydrogen peroxide-biological aerated filter process for advanced treatment of bio-treated leachate from Chinese herbal medicine residue

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2021-07, Vol.28 (28), p.37627-37635
• Main Authors: Tang, Guomin, Wei, Yujiang, Qin, Jiacheng, Zhang, Ziyang, Qian, Danfeng, Yang, Xiaoyan, Jia, Zhehua, Yu, Xuemin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aeration; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biodegradability; Biodegradation; Biological activity; Coagulation; Decantation; Decoloring; Decolorization; Dissolved organic matter; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Herbal medicine; Hydrogen peroxide; Leachates; Mineralization; Molecular weight; Ozone; Research Article; Residues; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-12914-w

To reach discharge limit, further treatment of bio-treated leachate from Chinese herbal medicine residue (BLCHMR) was very imperative. In this study, performance of combined coagulation/decantation-ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O 3 /H 2 O 2 )-biological aerated filter (BAF) technology used to further treat BLCHMR was investigated with pilot-scale experiment. Under optimal conditions, the COD (40–44 mg/L) and color (13–17 time) in treated BLCHMR indicated that combined process can efficiently treat BLCHMR. O 3 /H 2 O 2 had good performance not only in mineralization and decomposing of organic matter but also in decolorization of BLCHMR. For dissolved organic matter (DOM), O 3 /H 2 O 2 reacted with non-biodegradable fraction preferentially and oxidized different molecular weight (MW) fractions equally. O 3 /H 2 O 2 -BAF generated more higher MW DOM (namely F2 fraction) than BAF alone. Meanwhile, O 3 /H 2 O 2 mainly influenced the amount and biodegradability on DOM but not the removal rate on DOM. Accordingly, the helpful influence on O 3 /H 2 O 2 perhaps can be owed to the generalized influence on DOM but not the specific influence on improved biodegradability. Finally, inspiring (namely very low) cost (respectively, 0.3419 $/per ton bio-treated leachate and 0.5766 $/Kg COD removed) was achieved in the combined process.