Cost comparison of advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment using accumulated oxygen-equivalent criteria

Emmanuel Mousset; Wei Hao Loh; Wei Shien Lim; Léa Jarry; Zuxin Wang; Olivier Lefebvre

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2021.117234

Cost comparison of advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment using accumulated oxygen-equivalent criteria

Water Res. 2021 Jul 15:200:117234. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117234. Epub 2021 May 12.

Authors

Emmanuel Mousset¹, Wei Hao Loh², Wei Shien Lim², Léa Jarry², Zuxin Wang³, Olivier Lefebvre⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Dr. 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore; Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés, UMR CNRS 7274, Université de Lorraine, 1 rue Grandville BP 20451, 54001 Nancy cedex, France.
² Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Dr. 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
³ Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Dr. 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore; School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin 132012, China.
⁴ Centre for Water Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Dr. 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore. Electronic address: ceelop@nus.edu.sg.

PMID: 34058485
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117234

Abstract

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have received a lot of attention over the years as advanced physico-chemical polishing wastewater treatments to remove biorefractory pollutants. Additionally, many studies report their excellent degradation and mineralization performance as stand-alone technologies too, demonstrating the versatility of these processes; however, there is a lack of suitable methods to compare the performance (in terms of removal efficiency and operating costs) of different AOPs in the same conditions. In this context, the goal of this paper is to propose a systematic investigation by introducing a novel criterion, namely the accumulated oxygen-equivalent chemical-oxidation dose (AOCD), to systematically compare the diverse AOPs available: ozonation, H₂O₂ photolysis, Fenton, photo-Fenton, electro-Fenton and photoelectro-Fenton (paired with anodic oxidation, for the latter two). For each of these, the cost efficiency was determined by optimizing the operating conditions for the removal of phenol, selected as a model pollutant (1.4 mM, equivalent to 100 mg-C L^-1). The operating costs considered sludge management, chemical use and electricity consumption. Among all AOPs, electro-Fenton was the most cost-effective (108 - 125 € m^-3), notwithstanding the mineralization target (50%, 75% and 99%), owing to its electrocatalytic behavior. Chemical Fenton proved competitive too up to 50% of mineralization, meaning that it could also be considered as a cost-effective pre-treatment solution. AOCD was the lowest for electro-Fenton, which could be attributed to its excellent faradaic yield, while UV-based processes generally required the highest dose. The AOCD criterion could serve as a baseline for AOP comparison and prove useful for the legislator to determine the "best available techniques" as defined by the Industrial Emissions European Union Directive 2010/75/EU.

Keywords: Electro-Fenton; Fenton; H(2)O(2) photolysis; Ozonation; Photo-Fenton; Photoelectro-Fenton.

MeSH terms

Costs and Cost Analysis
Hydrogen Peroxide
Iron
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen
Water Pollutants, Chemical*
Water Purification*

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Hydrogen Peroxide
Iron
Oxygen