Fenton treatment efficacy for the purification of different kinds of wastewater

The Fenton chemistry comprises both the classical Fenton reagent and its modification, so-called Fenton-like techniques, which have received great attention as a promising technology for wastewater treatment. In the present study real wastewater from different sources (leachate from oil shale semicoke landfill, pharmaceutical effluents from medical ointment production, municipal landfill leachate and wastewater originated from food-processing) were treated by means of Fenton/Fenton-like systems. The effectiveness of wastewater treatment was assessed by COD removal. Additionally, biodegradability improvement (BOD₇/COD) and acute toxicity reduction of investigated wastewater samples were observed. The application of the Fenton chemistry to wastewater samples with different origin resulted generally in 70% or higher COD removal. Thus, the Fenton could be effectively applied both as a single treatment method and pre-treatment step to improve subsequent biodegradability of wastewater effluents.