Application of Advanced Oxidative Process for Organic Compounds Removal from Bayer Liquor

Abstract

One of the major problems in the alumina industry is organics in Bayer liquor. It causes a decrease in alumina quality and an increase in processing costs. It occurs due to the organic matter content present in bauxite. Among the technologies available to remove these organic compounds, the advanced oxidative processes (AOP) is one option. This technique consists of the degradation of recalcitrant compounds by the formation of radicals, such as the OH·. Ozonation involves the injection of O3 for OH· generation. The process can be improved by adding H2O2, accelerating reaction kinetics. The aim of this work was to remove the organic compounds present in Bayer liquor through the injection of O3 and O3/H2O2 in a batch reactor. The effect of reagents’ concentration and temperature was evaluated. Results showed that increasing temperature raises the organic degradation in higher concentrations.