Combination of coagulation and catalytic wet oxidation for the treatment of pulp and paper mill effluents

Wet oxidation (WO) is a well established process for purification of concentrated municipal and industrial wastewaters. Many attempts have been made to modify the WO process or to create a suitable combination of processes. This work was undertaken to investigate wet oxidation integrated with coagulation, i.e. to treat the sludge remaining after coagulation with a WO process. The possibility of regeneration of the used coagulant was also considered. Two waters from paper mills were used: TMP (thermomechanical pulp) circulation water and membrane concentrate. About 50% of the COD in the original water can be removed by coagulation using Fe₂(SO₄)₃. The results from the wet oxidation experiments show the positive effect of iron in the chemical sludge as a catalyst. The efficiency of the WO process was enhanced almost by 100%. The remaining dissolved organic matter can be easily removed biologically.