Sequential treatment of landfill leachate by electrocoagulation/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV and electro-Fenton: Performance, biodegradability and toxicity studies.

This study presents a systematic study on sequential treatment of highly resistant landfill leachate by electrocoagulation (EC)/aeration, sulfate radical advanced oxidation process (SR-AOP) and electro-Fenton (EF). In case of SR-AOP, peroxymonosulfate (PMS) catalyzed by zero valent iron (ZVI) and ultraviolet irradiation (UV) system was developed. Treatment process was optimized in respect to COD removal. Analysis of results revealed that sequential application of EC/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV, and EF processes provide an extraordinary performance and meet the environmental regulations. The source of iron for EF process was provided from previous process reducing the cost of sequential process. Separately, EC/aeration (inlet COD = 4040 mg/L), PMS/ZVI/UV (inlet COD = 1560 mg/L), and EF (inlet COD = 471 mg/L) removed 61, 69 and 82% of COD respectively. Overall, sequential processes of EC/aeration, PMS/ZVI/UV and EF could remove the COD, TOC and ammonia of the landfill leachate around 98%, 93% and 94%, respectively. The comparison of different sequences of following processes indicated that current configuration (EC/aeration-PMS/ZVI/UV-EF) could meet the discharge standards. Furthermore, humification degree was significantly improved after oxidative processes. Biodegradability study was also performed by means of BOD/COD, average oxidation state (AOS), and Zahn-Wellens test, and the best results associated with these indices were obtained 0.56, 2.37, and over 98%, respectively. Phytotoxicity of leachate was remarkably reduced and the final effluent can be considered as a non-phytotoxic wastewater.

Measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in edible oils and potential health risk to consumers using Monte Carlo simulation, southwest Iran.

Persistent organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are hazardous trace contaminants frequently observed in food ingredients, such as edible oils. This study aimed to measure PAHs in forty brands of edible oils marketed in southwest Iran. Additionally, we characterized the daily intake of MOE and ILCR using Monte Carlo simulation. To analyze the content of PAHs, the liquid-liquid extraction method followed by GC-MS was utilized. The average concentration of PAHs was mostly lower than the maximum value for individual PAH (2 µg/Kg); however, the average concentration of fluorene (3.86 µg/Kg) and benzo(a)anthracene (3.13 µg/Kg) was more than the permitted level. The highest residual concentrations of PAHs were mostly observed in canola and corn oils. The daily intake of BaP and 4-PAH for 95% of consumers was 0.01 ng/kg BW/day and 0.04 ng/kg BW/day, respectively. Also, MOE was more than 10,000 for the percentiles of 5%, 50%, and 95%. The modeled ILCR showed that consumption of oil does not currently pose a cancer risk for Iranian consumers due to PAHs exposure. Concerning potential health risks, consumption of edible oils is safe; however, regular monitoring and assessment are required.

Oxidative removal of benzotriazole using peroxymonosulfate/ozone/ultrasound: Synergy, optimization, degradation intermediates and utilizing for real wastewater.

This study investigated the degradation efficiency of BTA using combination of ultrasound (US), peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and ozone. The effects of different operational parameters were investigated to optimize the process performance. The results showed that the highest removal efficiency was reached at neutral pH, ozone = 6.8 mg/L, PMS = 1.5 mM and US power = 200 W. Under these conditions, 40 mg/L of BTA was completely degraded within 60 min leading to the almost 85% of chemical oxygen demand removal, 75% of total organic carbon removal and 73.3% of organic nitrogen removal. Based on the scavenging tests, it was found that hydroxyl radical was the main oxidizing agent in the oxidation of BTA by PMS/ozone/US process. The inhibitive effect of anions on BTA removal was under this order NO2- > HCO3- > Cl- > NO3- > SO42-. Degradation intermediates of BTA were identified and oxidation pathway was proposed. Finally, real samples of saline water, petrochemical wastewater and secondary effluent matrices were investigated for the performance of PMS/ozone/US process and it was found that 54%, 72.3% and 94.6% BTA removal efficiency were reached, respectively. PMS/ozone/US process was compared to US/peroxone (ozone + H2O2) and the results showed importance of US irradiation in both systems. Accordingly, PMS/ozone/US process could be considered as an efficient and promising process for BTA degradation in various wastewaters.

4-Chlorophenol degradation using ultrasound/peroxymonosulfate/nanoscale zero valent iron: Reusability, identification of degradation intermediates and potential application for real wastewater.

In this study, nanoscale-zero valent iron (nZVI) was synthesized and its function was assessed in ultrasound (US)/peroxymonosulfate (PMS)/nZVI process to degrade 4-chlorphenol (4-CP). The influential operation parameters of US/PMS/nZVI were evaluated on 4-CP degradation. 95% of 4-CP was degraded during 30 min under the conditions of pH = 3.0, nZVI = 0.4 g/L, PMS = 1.25 mM, US power = 200 W. The rate constants of 4-CP degradation for US/PMS/nZVI, PMS/nZVI, US/PMS and US/nZVI were 0.1159, 0.03, 0.0134 and 0.0088 min-1 respectively. Simultaneous application of US and nZVI synergistically increased 4-CP degradation and PMS activation. nZVI was compared with Fe2+, Fe3+ and micro-ZVI and their results indicated high performance of nZVI compared to others. Reusability of nZVI was examined in four cycles. nZVI exhibited that reusability was acceptable in three runs. The results of effect of anions showed that phosphate had significant inhibitory effect on 4-CP degradation in US/PMS/nZVI process. The scavenging experiments indicated that hydroxyl radical had more contribution compared to sulfate radical. Intermediates of 4-CP degradation were identified including five aromatic compounds. Reaction pathway of 4-CP degradation was proposed. Finally, the performance of US/PMS/nZVI process was evaluated on real petrochemical wastewater. The results showed that US/PMS/nZVI can be a suitable pretreatment for biological treatment.