Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater
Acid mine drainage was utilized to catalyze the solar photo-Fenton treatment of wastewater coming from a sludge dewatering system. Acid mine drainage in the form of iron-rich liquid or synthesized minerals (namely magnetite, hematite, and goethite) was added in the wastewater, which was treated by m...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Environments |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/10/8/132 |
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| author | Tooba Aslam Vhahangwele Masindi Abdulbari A. Ahmad Efthalia Chatzisymeon |
| author_facet | Tooba Aslam Vhahangwele Masindi Abdulbari A. Ahmad Efthalia Chatzisymeon |
| author_sort | Tooba Aslam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Acid mine drainage was utilized to catalyze the solar photo-Fenton treatment of wastewater coming from a sludge dewatering system. Acid mine drainage in the form of iron-rich liquid or synthesized minerals (namely magnetite, hematite, and goethite) was added in the wastewater, which was treated by means of the solar photo-Fenton process. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of acid mine drainage, the wastewater matrix (i.e., synthetic and real wastewater), and the initial H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> concentration municipal wastewater’s organic content were explored. The results showed that using acid mine drainage (liquid phase) for wastewater treatment was more efficient than using the acid-mine-drainage-recovered minerals. Moreover, it was observed that the addition of acid mine drainage above 10.7 mL/L wastewater, which is equivalent to 50 mg/L iron, could substantially reduce the removal percentage of the chemical oxygen demand (COD). At the best conditions assayed, COD removal reached 99% after 90 min of photo-Fenton treatment under simulated solar light, in the presence of 30 mg/L Fe (i.e., 6.4 mL drainage/L of real wastewater) and 1000 mg/L H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> at a pH of 2.8. Therefore, the solar photo-Fenton treatment of municipal wastewater catalyzed by acid mine drainage may appear to be a promising method to effectively improve wastewater management, especially in areas with high solar energy potential. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:57:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-64b6158f11ea4c0f9e1a2482f529e8e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3298 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:57:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environments |
| spelling | doaj.art-64b6158f11ea4c0f9e1a2482f529e8e92023-11-19T01:00:43ZengMDPI AGEnvironments2076-32982023-08-0110813210.3390/environments10080132Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal WastewaterTooba Aslam0Vhahangwele Masindi1Abdulbari A. Ahmad2Efthalia Chatzisymeon3School of Engineering, Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UKMagalies Water, Scientific Services, Research & Development Division, Erf 3475, Stoffberg Street, Brits 0250, South AfricaSchool of Engineering, Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UKSchool of Engineering, Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UKAcid mine drainage was utilized to catalyze the solar photo-Fenton treatment of wastewater coming from a sludge dewatering system. Acid mine drainage in the form of iron-rich liquid or synthesized minerals (namely magnetite, hematite, and goethite) was added in the wastewater, which was treated by means of the solar photo-Fenton process. The effects of operational parameters such as the amount of acid mine drainage, the wastewater matrix (i.e., synthetic and real wastewater), and the initial H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> concentration municipal wastewater’s organic content were explored. The results showed that using acid mine drainage (liquid phase) for wastewater treatment was more efficient than using the acid-mine-drainage-recovered minerals. Moreover, it was observed that the addition of acid mine drainage above 10.7 mL/L wastewater, which is equivalent to 50 mg/L iron, could substantially reduce the removal percentage of the chemical oxygen demand (COD). At the best conditions assayed, COD removal reached 99% after 90 min of photo-Fenton treatment under simulated solar light, in the presence of 30 mg/L Fe (i.e., 6.4 mL drainage/L of real wastewater) and 1000 mg/L H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> at a pH of 2.8. Therefore, the solar photo-Fenton treatment of municipal wastewater catalyzed by acid mine drainage may appear to be a promising method to effectively improve wastewater management, especially in areas with high solar energy potential.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/10/8/132sewage treatmentwastewater managementadvanced oxidation processessolar processcircular economy in wastewateracid mine drainage |
| spellingShingle | Tooba Aslam Vhahangwele Masindi Abdulbari A. Ahmad Efthalia Chatzisymeon Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater Environments sewage treatment wastewater management advanced oxidation processes solar process circular economy in wastewater acid mine drainage |
| title | Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater |
| title_full | Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater |
| title_fullStr | Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater |
| title_full_unstemmed | Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater |
| title_short | Valorization of Acid Mine Drainage into an Iron Catalyst to Initiate the Solar Photo-Fenton Treatment of Municipal Wastewater |
| title_sort | valorization of acid mine drainage into an iron catalyst to initiate the solar photo fenton treatment of municipal wastewater |
| topic | sewage treatment wastewater management advanced oxidation processes solar process circular economy in wastewater acid mine drainage |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/10/8/132 |
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