Advanced Oxidation Processes

Spartan offers turnkey advanced oxidation processes (AOP) systems for industrial water treatment applications, including groundwater remediation, wastewater treatment, and pretreatment. Oxidation processes are most often used to remove TOC, COD, or specific organic compounds from water. Spartan offers laboratory and pilot plant services for evaluating ozone and advanced oxidation processes for water treatment. Call Spartan Environmental to discuss your application and learn how we can design a system to meet your needs.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) combine ozone (O3), ultraviolet (UV), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and/or catalyst to offer a powerful water treatment solution for the reduction (removal) of residual organic compounds as measured by COD, BOD or TOC. All AOPs are designed to produce hydroxyl radicals. The hydroxyl radicals act with high efficiency to destroy organic compounds.

Hydroxyl Radical Oxidation

The chart below shows the oxidizing power of hydroxyl radicals versus other oxidants.

Oxidizing Agent

Hydroxyl Radical

Oxygen (atomic)

Ozone

Hydrogen peroxide

Hypochlorite

Chlorine

Chlorine dioxide

Oxygen (molecular)

EOP (V)

2.80

2.42

2.08

1.78

1.49

1.36

1.27

1.23

Stick model of hydroxyl radical — _{Stick Model of Hydroxyl Radical}

Types of Advanced Oxidation Process

The advanced oxidation process (AOP) is successfully used to decompose many hazardous chemical compounds to acceptable levels without producing additional hazardous by-products or sludge, which require further handling. The term advanced oxidation processes refers specifically to processes in which oxidation of organic contaminants occurs primarily through reactions with hydroxyl radicals. AOPs usually refer to a specific subset of processes that involve O3, H2O2, and/or UV light.

The most widely applied advanced oxidation processes (AOP) have been:

packages ozone UV advanced oxidation process (AOP) with control and on-line TOC analyzer — _{Packaged Ozone UV AOP with Controls and On-Line TOC Analyzer}

Advantages of Advanced Oxidation Processes

Rapid reaction rates
Small footprint
Potential to reduce the toxicity of organic compounds
Mineralization of organics, i.e. conversion to salt and CO2
Does not concentrate waste for further treatment, such as membranes
Does not produce “spent carbon,” such as activated carbon absorption
Easily automated and controlled
Reduced labor input
Does not create sludge as with physical-chemical processes or biological processes (wasted biological sludge)

Disadvantages of Advanced Oxidation Processes

Capital intensive
Tailoring of complex chemistry to specific application
For some applications quenching of excess peroxide is required

Commonly Treated Contaminants Using AOP

1,4-Dioxane
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether)
Perchloroethylene (PCE)
Pesticides
Trichloroethylene (TCE)
VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds)

Industry Applications

Food Processing
Industrial Chemicals
Metal & Metal Plating
Pesticides
Plastic & Petrochemical
Pharmaceuticals
Signature Compounds
Textile & Dying
Toxic Compounds

industrial water treatment platinum-cobalt color scale ppm levels

Advanced Oxidation Process Application

The selection of a specific advanced oxidation process is application-dependent. Spartan evaluates each client’s application to see which AOP fits best based on the type of compounds to be removed, treatment objectives, concentrations, site considerations, budget, etc.

Advanced oxidation processes are designed to both efficiently produce and use hydroxyl ions for these oxidations. They have a wide range of applications, mainly for oxidation of refractory compounds, TOC & COD reduction in:

Gas effluent treatment
Water reclaim/reuse / recycling
Drinking water supplies
Industrial & municipal wastewater
Process water, ultra-pure water
Electronic & pharmaceutical industries

AOP can act on organic compounds in water in several ways: convert one compound into another (conversion), conversion with a reduction in toxicity and mineralization (breaking the organic down to CO2 and inorganic salts). In some cases, discharge permits simply require conversion from a compound of interest to another compound that is not covered by the permit. For example, some permits require taking phenol to a fraction of a ppm. In other cases, permitting authorities require the toxicity of the compound/wastewater to be reduced before discharge. In some cases, mineralization is needed as measured by a reduction of TOC.

Spartan supplies advanced oxidation processes for organic oxidation (organic removal); examples include aromatic compounds such as phenol/benzoic acid. Please contact us with any questions.

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