Treatment of evaporative water from brewer’s yeast concentration by Fenton and Fenton-like processes

Abstract

Evaporative water from yeast slurry concentration is acidic, low mineralized and contains large amounts of dissolved organic contaminants. The treatment of evaporative water from yeast slurry concentration by Fenton (Fe(II)/H 2 O 2 ) and Fenton-like (Fe(III)/H 2 O 2 ) reactions has been studied. The processes in terms of system variables have been compared: catalyst and oxidant doses, initial pH, temperature of reaction, and the reaction kinetic. For determination of mineralization efficiency the total organic carbon (TOC) in water before and after reactions was measured. The Fenton reaction was more efficient for mineralization of organic compounds: the highest efficiency of TOC removal was 45–50%, while for the Fenton-like it was 20–30%. The pH adjustment of evaporative water in the range of 2–5 did not change the efficiency of treatment. Temperature of 30°C was the most favorable for both reactions. The Lumped Kinetic Model fitted very well the experimental results. The reaction rate analysis indicated that the rate of direct mineralization of organic compounds is similar to the rate of its oxidation to organic intermediates, its selectivity factor was more favorable to the Fenton reaction. The strong correlation between chemical oxygen demand (COD) and TOC in evaporative water after the Fenton and Fenton-like reactions has been determined, providing a simple tool for calculating COD on the basis of values of TOC measurement.