Biological degradation and chemical oxidation characteristics of coke-oven wastewater

Abstract

Biological and chemical oxidation characteristics of two kinds of coke-oven wastewaters, A and B, discharged from a conventional batch coke-oven and a newly developed continuous coke-oven, respectively, were studied for selecting effective treatment processes of the wastewaters. Pollutants contained in Wastewater-A could be removed by biological process with a sufficient effluent quality, while those which existed in Wastewater-B could not be satisfactorily removed. Microbial community structure investigation using the respiratory quinone profile clarified that Pseudomonas putida (dominant quinone: ubiquinone-9) was a dominant species in the biological treatment system. The refractory organic pollutants, existed in Wastewater-B, were mineralized more effectively by Fenton's reagent than by ozone. A wastewater treatment process, in which Fenton's oxidation is followed by a biological treatment, was proposed for the treatment of Wastewater-B based on the experimental results.