Alternative Treatment of Recalcitrant Organic Contaminants by a Combination of Biosorption, Biological Oxidation and Advanced Oxidation Technologies

R. CANDAL, ; M. LITTER; E. LOPEZ LOVEIRA; L. GUZ; A. SENN; G. CURUTCHET

Organic Pollutants Ten Years After the Stockholm Convention - Environmental and Analytical Update

In Tech

Año: 2011; p. 455 - 472

Industrial activity produces increasing amounts of effluent. Many compounds present in them are recalcitrant[1] and therefore persistent in the environment, causing deleterious effects on the ecosystem These compounds are usually found in very low concentrations and large volumes of effluent, characteristics that make it very difficult its treatment by conventional means. Conventional techniques for removal of recalcitrant pollutants from wastewaters are based in the use of activated carbon, ionic exchange resins, chemical precipitation and membrane filtration. But they are not useful very convenient due to the large volumes to be treated and the low concentration of pollutants, excessive use of chemicals, accumulation of concentrated sludge and  disposal problems, high cost of operation and maintenance of plant, sensitivity to other components of the liquid effluent. [1] Recalcitrant: name given to compounds that resist environmental (sun light, air, water, etc) and biological degradation