International Journal of Chemistry and Material Science Vol. 2(2), pp. 074-079, November 2014 ISSN 2327-5553 ©2014 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Treatment on industrial wastewater for removal of surfactants

Sachin Madhavrao Kanawade

Pravara Rural Education Society’s Sir Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, A/P Chincholi,

Chemical Engineering Department, Tal-Sinnar, Dist-Nashik, M.S. India Pin-422101, India.

E-mail: sachinkanawade2012@rediffmail.com.

Accepted 10 October, 2014

Abstract

Surfactants are among the most widely disseminated xenobiotics that contribute significantly to the pollution profile of sewage and wastewaters of all kinds. Among the currently employed chemical unit processes in the treatment of wastewaters, coagulation-flocculation has received considerable attention for yielding high pollutant removal efficiency. Jar-test experiments are employed in order to determine the optimum conditions for the removal of surfactants, COD and turbidity in terms of effective dosage, and pH control. Treatment with FeCl3 proved to be effective in a pH range between 7 and 9. The process is very effective in the reduction of surfactants and COD, the removals are 99 and 88% respectively, and increased BOD/COD index from 0.17 to 0.41. In addition to the precipitation coagulation process, adsorptive micellar flocculation mechanism seems to contribute to the removal of surfactants and organic matters from this rejection.

Key words: Iron chloride, industrial wastewaters, surfactants, coagulation flocculation.