Abstract:
The industrial wastewater is the leading source of water pollution due to diverse nature of
pollutants present in the effluents. The goal of this work was to establish methods for the
treatment of petroleum refinery, soap & detergent and pulp & paper effluents as well as
simulated solution of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) using gamma and UV radiation in
the presence of H 2 O 2 and TiO 2 . The degradation of pollutants was monitored through
UV/Vis, FTIR, GC-MS and HPLC techniques. The efficiency of advanced oxidation
processes (AOPs) was evaluated on the basis of extant of degradation, water quality
parameters and detoxification. The toxicities were determined through various bioassays
such as allium cepa, haemolytic, shrimp and Ames tests. The independent variables such as
radiation dose, catalysts concentration, exposure time, pH, temperature etc. were optimized
using response surface methodology for maximum degradation of pollutant. Through
advanced characterization techniques, it was found that the AOPs were able to oxidize
recalcitrant, toxic and non-biodegradable compounds to various intermediates and eventually
to inert end products by generating intermediacy hydroxyl radicals. The gamma ray/H 2 O 2
treatment degrade the toxic residues, improve water quality and reduce the toxicity
significantly, however, UV/TiO 2 /H 2 O 2 furnished better response. From the results, it is
concluded that the AOPs (UV/TiO 2 /H 2 O 2 and gamma ray/H 2 O 2 ) could be successfully used
for the treatment of petroleum refinery, soap & detergent and pulp & paper effluents as well
as NPEOs since the water quality fall within the permissible limits recommended by the
environmental agencies.
