Treatment of dairy industry wastewater by applying non thermal plasma experimental studies and statistical optimization

Abstract

Pollution due to the discharge of wastewater is poisoning the water bodies. Water is contaminated by urban and industrial water supplies polluting rivers, lakes, sea, streams and aquifers. The quality of the water has a direct or indirect effect on the quality of all the creatures that depend on it. A significant amount of water contamination can have long-term effects. The dairy sector is one of the most polluting sectors, not just in terms of effluent volume, as well as in terms of its characteristics. Pollutants are produced intermittently during milk processing and their flow rates vary dramatically. The volume, concentration and composition of the effluents in the dairy industry depend on the form of a product being produced, manufacturing technique, operational procedures, processing plant configuration, degree of water control being applied and consequently the amount of water being preserved. The key environmental issues associated with the processing of milk are impacting on water, air and biodiversity degradation. Therefore, effective treatment processes are needed to treat dairy effluents. In this study, an attempt is made to treat the dairy industry effluents by applying the Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) and plasma technology. AOP s provide efficient treatment for water pollution and detoxification. They are also more superior to a single stage of oxidation. To increase the treatment efficiency of pollutants, the combined AOP processes of ozone, UV radiation and hydrogen peroxide are used. Moreover, AOP s are powerful oxidizers of the water molecule, which is produced by the reaction of two free-radicals. The present study investigates the performance of combined AOP processes like O3/UV/H2O2 system in dairy industry effluent treatment. A laboratory-scale photocatalytic ozone reactor was designed and developed. Moreover, the impact of process variables pH, effluent flow rate, reaction newline