Treatment of organic water contaminants in oil refinery effluents investigated by using a simulation model.
In this paper the wastewater treatment of organic compounds, particularly the water soluble (polar) compounds in refinery effluents, is simulated by addressing biodegradation, adsorption, and stripping/volatilization. The study examines pollutant data from two refineries in Norway and one in the United States. Previously, little attention has been paid to polar compounds. However, they are present in effluents, sometimes in large amounts, and are difficult to characterize and quantify. The study shows that many polar compounds, including the recently introduced methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether, are biodegraded by < 10% in simulated wastewater treatment. The concentrations of some polymers are barely reduced at all, and some metabolites of nonionic surfactants increase in toxicity along the route of degradation, resulting in an end product of the highest toxicity. The study demonstrates that of the substances entering the treatment systems, the residual of selected polar compounds is 38% of the incoming amount, while oil is reduced to 8%. It can be inferred from the study that polar compounds are contaminants, many of which may pose a pollution problem, and that reduction of polar compounds in effluents should be carried out upstream at the source of pollution, rather than downstream by end-of-pipe treatment.
Siljeholm
J
J
Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Blindern, Norway. jornsi@mit.edu
D000327:Adsorption; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007256:Information Systems; D008738:Methyl Ethers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009664:Norway; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism*; D011108:Polymers; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014835:Volatilization; D018505:Waste Management / Q000592:standards; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D018508:Water Purification
D007220:Industrial Waste; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D010578:Petroleum; D011108:Polymers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C043243:methyl tert-butyl ether